Love Conquers All
by EvilRegalGleek
Summary: What if Regina's conversation with Snow had gone just a little bit differently the night she and Daniel got engaged, and they had chosen to run away that same night? Unfortunately, this means the a certain deal Rumpelstiltskin made with Cora would have worked out. AU. StableQueen, Rumbelle, Snowing, other ships TBD.
1. Into The Darkness

Regina's heart thudded against the inside of her chest as the frightened little princess tore out of the barn. She stole a quick glance at Daniel before bolting after her.

"Snow! Snow!"

The child whipped around with her hands on her hips. "_What_ were you doing with him? You are to marry my father! You are to be my _mother_!"

Regina froze. What was she supposed to say now?

"Well, Snow…" She stammered as the little girl looked back at her in disgust. "That man you saw is going to be going away from here and never coming back. All I was doing was giving him a kiss goodbye. I'm not in love with him."

Snow's eyes widened. "Oh. So…so you do love my father?"

Regina forced a smile. She so hated lying to this little girl…this innocent child who was under the impression that she was about to get a mother. "I can grow to love him. And we can be a family."

Snow's little smile broke Regina's heart, and she nearly cried when the child ran over to her and threw her arms around her waist. Regina turned to Daniel and mouthed, "We're leaving now". Then she knelt down in front of Snow.

"There's one thing that I do need to talk to you about, though."

Snow nodded seriously. "Okay."

Regina took the little girl's hand and led her over to a bench under the tree. "Is this about getting back on the horse?" asked Snow.

"No," Regina cupped the chlid's head in both hands. "Listen to me, Snow. Your mother who you lost, she was probably a very kind lady, wasn't she?"

Snow nodded eagerly. "She was the kindest person in the world. She loved me more than anything else ever."

"Well, my mother isn't like that," Regina explained. "Think of her as a woman who's pretending to be a mother. She may seem sweet, but she really loves something else much more than she loves me: _power._"

Snow's eyes widened. "How could she love power more than you?"

"Because she isn't a real mother," Regina pressed, feeling like this was the best way to explain it to the young child who probably idolized her own deceased mother. "She's a pretend mother. She only had me because she wanted me to help her get what she wanted."

Snow blinked back a few tears and squeezed Regina's hand. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"And there's more," said Regina. She glanced behind her. Daniel was standing in the barn next to his packed bag and gesturing to two saddles on their racks. Regina nodded. Then she turned back to Snow. "Besides not even being a real mother, my mother is also a powerful witch." Snow's eyes widened. "If someone makes her mad, she throws them against the wall with a flick of her wrist or _worse_." Regina stopped short of telling Snow about her mother's heart-ripping technique, not wanting to scar the little girl for life. "She's very dangerous, no matter how kind she is to you, no matter how sweet she seems, she is just _a witch pretending to be a real mother so she can hurt people_."

Snow gulped nervously and nodded. "Okay, I'll remember."

"Snow, I need you to promise me that you will _never_ talk to my mother. Don't do anything with her, don't speak with her, if you can don't even _look_ at her. I don't want you to get hurt."

Snow nodded. "I promise," she whispered. Regina pulled her into a small hug.

"And I promise you that as long as you stay as far away from my mother as you can and never talk to her, that one day you will get the stepmother that you and your father deserve and that your dear mother would have been proud of." Regina kissed Snow on the top of her head before releasing her. "Now go along to bed, dear. There's much to be done in the morning."

Snow grinned and ran back to the house. Regina pretended to follow along back to her bedroom. Once Cora was satisfied that Regina was in bed, Regina put on her riding clothes, snuck back out, and ran straight for the secret meeting place half a mile from the barn that she and Daniel had always come to when they needed each other. He was waiting with their two favorite mares loaded up with saddle bags. He gave Regina a leg up and they both nudged the horses into a gallop. This was it, they were finally getting out of their. Regina nudged her mare into an even faster run than Daniel's was in, and as they neared the edge of the property, she turned back to smile at him. The pure joy on her face only lasted seconds before she was flung from her horses back and onto the ground. The horse kept going but stopped when she realized she had lost her passenger. Daniel stopped a few feet away from the edge, too. Everyone had crossed the border of the property except Regina.

"What just happened?" asked Daniel.

"My mother has the borders of our property enchanted so I can't leave without her permission," said Regina tearfully. "I can't come with you."

"Hmm...what a pity."

Regina nearly screamed when she looked behind her and saw a slimy-looking impish little man standing only two feet away from her.

"Who _are_ you?" demanded Daniel.

"Someone who has a way to help you leave the property and make sure that Cora_ never_ finds you." Then he laughed a creepy little laugh before waving his hand, creating a sort of tunnel of air along the border of the property. Then he snapped his fingers, and little puffs of smoke surrounded Daniel, Regina, and their horses for a few seconds.

"What have you done to us?" asked Regina.

"It's a protection spell. I've made it impossible for your mother to use magic to ever find you!"

"But all magic comes with a price."

"Not this time, dearies. Let's just say...I'm invested in your future. Now go! Before it's too late!"

Seeing no other option, Regina ran off the property, jumped back on her horse, and continued on her way with Daniel.

* * *

_The Following Evening_

"Father? Why are we leaving?" Snow's eyes shone with disappointment as her father and his servants packed up the carriages.

King Leopold sighed. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, child. But Regina has decided not to marry me." His heart broke when he saw the disappointment in his daughter's eyes "Nobody has seen her since last night. She's gone."

"Oh." Snow wouldn't have known. She'd spent most of the day hiding under the bed and then in an empty carriage. "I'll bet I know why she didn't want to marry you, Father." The king didn't say anything, he just gestured to one of his footmen to load up a trunk on top of his carriage. "She must have been afraid the evil witch would hurt me."

"What are you talking about, Snow?"

"Regina told me that her mother isn't a real mother, she's an evil witch who doesn't care about anything but power!"

That didn't make any sense. Cora had never done anything to him that was even the slightest bit impolite. Maybe Regina and Cora just didn't get along as well as Regina had let on and Regina had just run away to defy her mother.

Then again…Regina hadn't even been the one to accept his proposal. _Cora _had. Maybe Regina hadn't wanted to marry him in the first place. But why would _any_ young woman turn down an opportunity to be queen? To be Snow's mother?

"Your highness?" the king turned to see Lord Henry standing meekly behind him. "I'm truly sorry that this has happened."

"Don't worry about it," King Leopold assured him. "If she'd be unhappy living with me, it's best that I find that out now."

Lord Henry nodded. "Thank you for your understanding. Is there anything else I can get you? Perhaps a horse from my stable? I have a small and very well-trained one that might suit your daughter, if you think it would ease the disappointment she must be feeling."

The king smiled. "That would be perfect, actually. Why don't you have him brought out and I'll take a look at him before I give him to Snow?"

"Sure," Lord Henry bowed. "If you'll excuse me one moment I'll have to get the horse myself. Our stable boy hasn't shown up today, either."

And, Henry suddenly realized, he seemed to have made off with two of their best horses.

* * *

_Three days later_

The stable boy and his bride-to be had come to rest in a vacant barn in the middle of the woods. Their saddles and bags lay in a heap near the door, the horses were tied up near a wall, and Daniel and Regina were asleep on the saddle blankets.

"_You could have at least left a note, Regina_."

Regina's eyes flew open. There was Cora, surrounded by purple smoke. She laughed her terrifyingly little laugh. Regina coughed, unable to see anything.

"_You foolish, foolish girl_."

"Mother…_NO_!"

Regina shrieked as Cora threw her daughter up against the wall of the barn. She walked over to the two horses frantically pulling at the ropes tying them in place, and with a wave of her hand, froze them. She then marched over, ripped out their hearts, and crushed them. Their heavy innocent bodies thudded onto the ground.

"_This is what will happen to you and your lover if you don't return and marry King White!_" screamed Cora as she flew over to Regina in a rage. "_You're mine! Mine_!"

"Regina!"

Regina's eyes flew open. Daniel was wide awake and trying to hold her against his chest. She realized she'd actually been crying and screaming. The horses had backed up against the wall and were eyeing her warily, they hadn't seen her like this before.

"It's okay," whispered Daniel. "It was just another nightmare. You'll be safe, Regina. We never have to see her again. The nightmares will go away."

Regina held onto him tighter, secretly feeling certain that the nightmares would never go away. Daniel wouldn't know that. He'd had a mother who'd held him when he was scared instead of scaring him so much that any demons that could have appeared in his nightmares would have paled in comparison.

Regina and Daniel got up, calmed and saddled up the horses, and began making their way through the wood once more. Regina pulled her horse to an abrupt halt. "Daniel!" she whispered. "I hear someone!"

Daniel came up to her closer. "It's a royal carriage parked at the side of the road. There's a little girl playing next to it with some servants."

Regina backed her horse a little off the path and felt Daniel's hand grasp one of hers when he noticed she was shaking uncontrollably. She tried force herself to breathe steadily and stroke her hose.

"Papa! Papa, look! It's a marigold!"

Regina sighed with relief. "That's not Princess Snow."

"Will you touch it for me, Papa? Please!"

Regina leaned to take a closer look at the king and princess. The little blonde child set her flower down on a rock and stepped back, and to Regina's astonishment, the flower immediately turned to solid gold.

"Oh, _thank you_ Papa!" she squealed.

Daniel blinked his eyes and looked a little dizzy for a moment. "Did I just see what I think I saw?"

Regina nodded. "That must be King Midas."

"Papa, how long until we get home?" asked the young princess.

"I already told you. To get home from King George's kingdom, we need to pass through King White's kingdom first."

"Oh."

"We're almost there."

Regina sighed with relief. At least they were out of the kingdom now. And they knew where they were going.

She nudged her horse forward. Daniel followed behind.

"How did that man turn a little flower into gold? I don't understand it."

"My mother did that kind of thing all the time, actually."

Daniel didn't say anything. He knew Regina didn't like talking about Cora very often.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," she whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Because I wasn't strong enough to stand up to my mother, I've taken you away from your life."

He reached over and squeezed her hand. "No, Regina. You are my life."

* * *

Tears filled Lord Henry's eyes as he stepped into Regina's bedroom, frozen in time. Even the blankets were peeled back from when she'd gotten out of bed, the wardrobe still open with a few clothes sloppily yanked out. She hadn't brought a single dress with her, he realized. Just sleepwear and riding clothes. So like Regina…

And then it hit him.

It wasn't hard to do the math. One barn, minus two horses, two saddles, two bridles, one stable boy, and one devoted young horsewoman. How could he not have realized this before?

On Regina's bookshelf, two porcelain dolls with cloth bodies in wedding attire sat collecting dust. Henry picked them up and felt them, memories flashing before his eyes.

_"What's that, Daddy?"_

_"A little something I bought for you in town."_

_"Oh, thank you, Daddy! These are beautiful! I'm gonna use them to plan out my whole wedding!"_

_"Aren't you a little young to be thinking about getting married, Regina?"_

_"Not too young to start planning! I'm gonna get married here on the farm in a dress just like this doll has, only with flowers on it. And if Mommy lets me, I'll be getting married in a horse pasture. The aisle will be made out of a beautiful pink carpet and…Daddy, lords are allowed to perform a marriage ceremony, right? You can get me and my husband married to each other!"_

_"Regina, darling, it would be an honor."_

Henry had to blink back tears as he set the two dolls back down on the bureau. He froze when a shiny little object slid down the leg of the bride doll. It was the engagement ring from King Leopold.

Of course she'd had to leave it here. If she'd tried to sell it to someone, a knowlegable jeweler might have recognized it as King Leopold's and used it to track her down.

Frantically, Henry grabbed the ring and shoved it into his pocket. He would get it back to the king before Cora did anything with it. She was more irritable than ever these days, mostly because using magic to track down Regina was proving impossible.

Then he hesitated and took the dolls, too, and some other things he'd given to Regina over the years or that he knew had meant something to her. Then he headed back to his bedchamber. He and Cora slept in separate rooms with an adjoining door and hadn't been so much as nudged open in years. He hid everything he'd taken in a bag in the back of his closet where Cora wouldn't think to look for it. Not that he would be with her for much longer.

He heard a tap on the door to his room. "Come in, Cora."

His wife stormed in. "What do you think you're doing inside? I swear, if you don't have a full army of men ready to search for our daughter ready by dawn, I'll announce to the whole kingdom that King Leopold's fiancé has gone missing so that he has no choice but to send his soldiers out after her to spare himself the shame of a runaway bride."

"Clever," said Henry quietly. "But if you do that, King Leopold will dismiss me as his lord and we'll have no power left. Is that what you want?"

"If it gets us to being the parents of the queen, yes."

Henry stood up. "I'll have the army assembled by morning. But we need to have one thing clear, Cora. If they fail, you're not allowed to punish them in any way up to and including ripping their hearts out."

"Don't you think that's a little unreason-"

"_No._"

"Fine," Cora relented. "Get to work."

Henry marched outside and went to the barn to saddle up his own horse, letting the tears roll down his cheeks. That deal had been necessary mostly because anyone he hired to look for Regina would be getting very strict instructions to fail. Because if Regina really had run away with that stable boy, there is no way that either one of them would survive Cora's wrath if they were found. And if the price to pay for Cora never seeing Regina again would be that Henry would never see her again either, then so be it.

He knew he would never see his baby girl again.

But it was okay.

Because for the first time in their lives, he finally had a way to protect her.

* * *

_Two days later_

A small village inn was Regina and Daniel's next resting stop that didn't involve a blanket on the floor and the horses tied to a tree.

"We don't have very much money," said Daniel apologetically. "We can sleep in the barn with our horses, if you like."

"Nonsense!" declared the friendly innkeeper. "I have a small room open for whatever you can afford. It's not much, but there's a bed big enough for the two of you."

Daniel smiled. "Thank you, kind sir."

"Hold it!" the innkeeper's wife walked over holding a stack of dirty dishes. "Are you two married?"

Daniel glanced off to the side. "Well…um…"

"We're _going_ to be married." Regina held out her hand bearing the makeshift engagement ring as evidence.

The innkeeper's wife clicked her tongue sternly. "_No one_ shares a bed in our inn without first saying their vows."

Regina and Daniel glanced at each other with disappointment. There was no way they could afford two bedrooms.

The innkeeper smiled. "You know, I used to be a soldier in King George's army. That makes me qualified to perform wedding ceremonies. How would you feel about saying your vows tonight?"

Not two hours later, Regina was dressed in a simple white dress she'd borrowed from another guest at the inn and holding a bunch of flowers some children had picked for her. Daniel was wearing his best coat and had combed his hair.

"Do you, Daniel, take Regina to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Do you, Regina, take Daniel to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"You may exchange rings."

Daniel had found his own gold band identical to the one he'd given Regina. She slid it onto his finger. She was already wearing hers.

"You may kiss the bride."

* * *

Cora was walking down the hallway towards her bedroom when a strange feeling suddenly enveloped her. The feeling that she was being watched by a certain someone.

"It's been a while, Rumpelstiltskin," said Cora before she even turned around.

"It has indeed. Wasn't the last time we spoke when I came to bring you that baby you couldn't have?"

"Yes, it was," Cora confirmed. "And you know very well that it was Henry, not me, who was incapable of conceiving a child."

"And as I seem to recall, you promised me when I brought you Regina that you would do a little something for me on her wedding day."

"Yes, well her wedding day has been delayed," snapped Cora bitterly. "She ran off several days before she was to become queen."

Rumpelstiltskin's smile widened. "That's not entirely accurate."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the reason I'm here is because this _is_ your daughter's wedding day."

Cora froze.

"_What _did you say?"

"Didn't you know? Regina just married her true-"

"_Of course_ I didn't know," Cora seethed. This was the angriest Rumpelstiltskin had ever seen her. And he had seen her pretty angry before. "Who is she married to? Is he powerful?"

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Powerful over the livestock he tends to for a living."

Cora sucked in her breath, and then let out a loud scream as she hurled a fireball at a painting of Regina that hung in the hallway, then at a houseplant, then at a glass sculpture. Rumpelstiltskin just chuckled.

"Don't you think a more productive way to channel your anger would be helping me with that favor you owe me?"

Cora swiveled back around, her usually perfect hair disheveled with anger. "And what exactly is that?"

Rumpelstiltskin smiled. "Something I think you'll be quite happy with." He opened his palm, revealing a scroll. "A dark curse that will give you the opportunity to exert power over everyone and everything in this kingdom. _Forever._"


	2. A Matter Of Time

On a small farm in a town at the very farthest end of King George's kingdom, a twelve-year-old boy sat on his porch tending to two orphan lambs while his father tended the flock.

"Just drink up little one, and soon you'll be big and strong enough to join your flock."

"James, aren't you supposed to be helping your father bring in the sheep?"

"That's what I'm doing, Mother. I just have to give these lambs their milk first." Then James looked up and met his mother's gaze. Her smile was warm, but the look in her eyes was bittersweet.

"Mother?"

"Yes, James?"

"Why are you always looking at me like that?"

"What…what do you mean?" Ruth faltered.

"I see it in your eyes. Every time you look at me, it's like something's…missing."

Ruth grew quiet. "All you need to know, son," she finally said, "Is that there is nothing about _you_ that doesn't make my life complete." She stepped closer and touched his cheek. "I'm so proud of the man you're becoming."

James smiled a little but walked away after the lamb was done sucking. He helped his father herd the flock into their fenced pen. By the time they were done, it was raining.

"Looks like there's a storm coming," James remarked.

"You're right," his father agreed. "Help me bring the pregnant ewes into the carding shed."

"What should I do with the baby lambs?" asked James.

"Take them to your bedroom after we're done."

"I'll go lock all the shutters," said Ruth.

Once the little family had secured their home and livestock as best they could, they ate a little supper and then went to bed. James tossed and turned as wind whipped at the shutters and raindrops tapped loudly on the roof and lightning flashed. He sat up with a start when he heard a distressed animal noise. Were the sheep okay in the pen? Worse…had they forgotten to herd one of them? They couldn't just leave one out there. James got up and ran for the front door. But as he became closer, he realized that the distressed sounds didn't sound anything like his sheep. They sounded more like…

Horses.

Sure enough, when James carefully opened the window and peeked out, he saw two people and two horses huddled under a tree. One of the horses was prancing anxiously, and the couple was huddling together for warmth.

"Um…excuse me?"

Both of the people jerked their heads up with a start when they saw James. Almost as if they were afraid of him. He shut the front door behind him and carefully went over to the tree they were standing by.

"Are you lost?" he asked.

Neither of them spoke.

"You can sleep inside if you want," James offered. "And you can tie up the horses out here under this tree. It's alright."

The two frightened travelers hesitated. Each one pulled a piece of rope out of a bag they were holding and tied the horses to the tree.

"Come on now," James encouraged. Quickly the couple followed him back to his house, and he opened the door and let them in. Inside, they took off their coats and warmed themselves near the fireplace.

"I'm James," James offered.

"I'm Regina, and this is my husband Daniel," offered the woman. James smiled a little. Then he stepped out of the room so that they could change into dry clothes. When he came back, they'd spread out a dirty blanket on the floor for themselves to sleep on. A blanket that had clearly seen more dirty ground than beds. James smiled sadly to himself, hoping that he'd done the right thing trying to help them. If they turned out to be swindlers, his parents would never forgive him. But James didn't think they were. There was something about them that made him trust them.

Fortunately, his instincts were correct. James woke up the next morning to find his mother helping Regina wash the clothes and blankets while his father and Daniel seemed to be repairing a piece of fence on the sheep pasture.

"What's that thing?" James heard Regina ask.

"It's…my washboard," Ruth responded. "I know it's seen better days."

"Sorry, I've never seen one of those before at all. My mother had a different way of getting our clothes clean."

Ruth raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Let's just say you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

James smiled at the two women and then grabbed a roll off the counter before walking outside to where the men were.

"Now just shift that piece of wood here…" instructed James's father. "Good. Now just hammer this nail back in and we should be good to go." Daniel looked perplexed. "Grab the hammer, please," said James's father again.

"Pardon me. I've just never seen a nail hammered in before. Which tool is the hammer?" The older man pointed to the hammer. Daniel smiled confidently, grasped the hammer by its head, and began using the wooden handle to bang the nail into place.

"You folks aren't from around here, are you?" remarked James.

"_James_…" warned the older man.

"It's fine," said Daniel. "We're not, actually. I train horses for a living, and…" he stopped short of revealing any of Regina's history. That could be detrimental.

"_Cool_," said James.

"James, please let the sheep out into the field now."

"Yes, father."

A few minutes later, Ruth and her husband went to go take inventory on their wool supply, and Regina went over to Daniel. "Do you know anything about washing dishes?" she whispered. "My mother always just made them disappear after we were done with them. And she always conjured the food, too. Did your mother ever have something shiny in her kitchen called a stove?"

Yes, it was definitely clear that the two had a lot to learn about country living. _Especially_ Regina.

* * *

_Two years later_

In a puff of purple smoke, Cora found herself in the main hall of Rumpelstiltskin's mansion. There was no one in sight except for a pretty young brunette scrubbing the floor. When the girl glanced up and saw Cora, she eyed her warily.

"Where's Rumpelstitskin?" Cora demanded.

"Right here, dearie." Cora turned and saw Rumpel at his spinning wheel, where he hadn't been two seconds before. "You can always just summon me, you know."

"I wanted to see it for myself."

"Step this way, if you don't mind." Rumpelstiltskin ushered Cora up the stairs and into a small room with nothing in it but potions and heaps of parchment-some scribbled on, some blank. Cora picked up one of the scribbled on pieces of parchment. All of them had riddles written on them.

"Now, are you satisfied that I have, in fact, been trying my damndest to figure out the right combination for our curse?"

Coldly, Cora picked up one of the pieces of parchment and read it off. "A vial of water from a lake of sand, the thumbnail of a giant's hand," she picked up another piece, "Boiling dust from the devil's bowl, a shard of glass from an empty soul." Cora looked up. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"It doesn't matter," Rumpelstiltskin mumbled uncharacteristically irritably. "None of them are the right combination to make it work. And when I do find the right combination, I'll need to find the right _potion_ to make it work. If you want to help me any, deliver this cloak to the Lucas family. They've already paid for it."

"Fine," Cora agreed reluctantly. "Any other errands you'd have me run while you're working on my curse?"

Rumpelstiltskin smiled. "Now _that's_ the way to move things along faster! When you're done with that, you can go down to the dwarf's mine and procure some fairy dust for me."

Cora sighed and went to go find the Lucas family, wondering just how much she'd have to do for Rumpelstiltskin while he was busy looking for her curse. The one _he_ had come up with in the first place, no less. Not that it was really a problem. She'd given up hope of ever finding Regina, and one day she'd suddenly realized Henry had left her, too. Time was all she had these days.

What Rumpelstiltskin wasn't telling her, of course, was that in addition to coming up with the right way to enact the curse, he also needed to find the means to _break_ it at the other end. And that wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

On the farm, Ruth smiled as she watched her husband and son work together to tend the flock. Today James was allowed to bring the sheep back into the pen one by one, next week he would be delivering a pregnant ewe's lambs on his own. Ruth wondered if James would ever want to leave this farm. Probably not. James was a natural with these animals. Then again, he was also good at helping Daniel and Regina with their new horse breeding farm, and if he did choose to get into that particular industry, he may be far better off.

"Daniel! Regina!"

Ruth smiled a little as the young couple came into view and her son raced to greet them. They were on horseback, as usual, but one of them also had a young mare in tow.

"What horse is that?" asked James. "I've never seen it before."

Daniel smiled. "Regina and I have decided that in exchange for all the help you've given us at the stable, you should have a horse all your own."

Ruth gasped. "I'm sorry, but there's no way we can aff-"

Daniel put his hand up. "Don't worry about it. Consider it our way of paying back for the kindness you all showed when we first arrived here. I can't bear to think of where we would have been without your family."

Ruth hesitated and then smiled. "James, what do you say?"

James was looking over his new horse as if it were an object from heaven. "Thank you, Daniel, thank you Regina," he finally managed.

Daniel smiled. "Why don't we try taking her out for a quick ride before dark?"

James looked to his father for permission. The shepherd nodded. Daniel handed his horse's reins to Regina and then walked away to help the boy mount his new horse. Ruth watched as Regina fumbled with the rope as she tied her horse to a tree, then Daniel's horse. When she walked over to Ruth, Ruth noticed her face was pale.

"What do you need to talk about, dear?"

"I'm pregnant."

Ruth smiled, put an arm around Regina, and took her inside.

"So, am I the first to know?" asked Ruth as she began fixing a cup of tea for the younger woman.

"Yes," whispered Regina, near tears. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Daniel."

"You think he doesn't want children? But he's always been so good with James."

"That's just it. If I tell him, he'll probably be thrilled, and then he won't be able to understand why I'm not." Regina sat down in a chair. "How am I supposed to know how to be a mother when mine…"

Ruth wrapped her arms comfortingly around Regina for a moment. She knew only that the younger woman's mother had been physically, verbally, mentally, and emotionally abusive to her growing up, and that Regina didn't like to talk about specifics. She'd also gathered that Regina and Daniel were hiding from her in this village, but they'd never talked about why, and she'd never asked.

"You're a good, loving woman, Regina," Ruth assured her. "You'll be an amazing mother. You have a strong heart. And you have Daniel. And you have us."

Regina nodded, feeling comforted but still unsure.

"If you like," Ruth whispered. "I have a way to let you know what you're having." She pulled a necklace out from under her shirt. "Do you want to know?"

Regina sat up and nodded. Ruth handed the necklace over to Regina, and it immediately started swinging. Ruth's face broke into a smile.

"What is it?" asked Regina.

"A boy. You're going to have a son."

* * *

_Eight and a half months later_

"They sure have been in there a long time," remarked James as he plopped himself down on a tree stump near where Daniel was pacing.

"Not even that long," mumbled Daniel to himself. "Are all the horses in?"

"All four are back in their stalls, they've been fed, watered, and groomed, and you've asked me that question five times." James paused for a moment. "You nervous?"

Daniel got up. "Why don't you ride along back to your farm now? I know your father is expecting you."

Just then, the front door burst open and Ruth called out for Daniel. He ran over to the front door.

"Are they alright?"

Ruth beamed and nodded. "Congratulations, Daniel. You have a healthy wife and son."

Daniel heard the baby crying as he entered the one-room cabin, where Regina was laying in their bed cradling her new baby. He was wrapped in a hand-me-down blanket from Ruth and James and wearing only a cloth diaper. Considering the nightmares she'd been having lately, Daniel was afraid of how stressed she would be now that the baby was actually here. But right now, she was glowing with happiness.

Slowly, Daniel moved over to her and sat down on the bed beside her.

"He has your eyes, Daniel," whispered Regina.

"He does," whispered Daniel. He reached out and touched the baby's cheek with his thumb. "Welcome to the family, Henry."

* * *

_Two years later_

"This is it now," whispered Rumpelstiltskin to himself. "This _has_ to be it."

On a blank piece of parchment, he scrawled out the words, "An ogre's horns, not one but two, dust from the hands of something blue." He closed his eyes and held it up with his right hand, expecting the paper to glow for a second. It didn't. Rumpel let the piece of parchment drift to the ground and sighed deeply. There was no telling anymore what the curse was going to take. He had tried more combinations than he could count of objects that were sure to prove nearly impossible to procure. After all, this was the curse to end _all _curses. There was no way it could be anything easy.

"Rumpelstiltskin!"

He looked up. Belle burst into the room breathlessly.

"Cora's here?" she nodded. "_Hide_." The servant girl obeyed his command.

Minutes later, Cora entered the room. "I found the dwarf hatchery you wanted me to break into."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Bring me two of the eggs. We need them."

"What for?"

"To do some business for us, of course. People see dwarves as innocent as they do fairies. They _trust_ them."

Cora smiled quickly and went off to get them. Rumpelstiltskin just sighed as soon as she left. This wasn't making any sense. How could none of his combinations be working? All magic comes with a price. He knew that better than anyone. Was his price destined to be an eternal puzzle and a never ending search for Baelfire? No. He would _not_ accept that.

In that moment, the dark one's eyes happened to fall on his potions rack on the opposite end of the room. In particular, they fell on the one empty spot with the heart marker.

That's when it hit him: love, after all, was the most powerful magic of all. Maybe he was just approaching this the _wrong way_.

"Locks from those with the darkest souls, the strength of something you hold too close."

Rumpelstiltskin held his breath as he held up his hand with the piece of paper in it. He watched. And he waited.

And then it flickered.

Then another flicker.

Then suddenly, a bright glow that illuminated the room.

A smile spread across the dark one's face. "Now we're talking, dearie."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you SO MUCH for all your lovely reviews! To the person who reviewed as guest, way ahead of you as you can see! ;) I'm quite flattered at the number of followers and favorites this story has already gotten, I really hope I'm doing the premise justice!**


	3. Family Matters

"Rumpelstiltskin! Wait! Where are you taking me?"

Belle shook when she realized the he had dragged her down to her former "room". The comfy-looking bed and chair he'd put in it along with a lamp, table, and tea set made it look less dreadful, but didn't change or disguise the fact that it was a dungeon.

"What did I do wrong?" she whispered.

"Nothing! You really think I'd punish you in this way, after everything?"

"Then why are you locking me down here?"

"To keep you safe from Cora. I'm going away on a little trip."

"To where?"

"It's best that I not tell you that yet, dearie. But I'll be back."

He gave her a quick hug, locked the door, and disappeared in a flash.

Later that night, Belle glanced at the table and realized dinner had appeared on it and the tea pot was suddenly full. She smiled a little. She didn't doubt that Rumpelstiltskin would always take care of her, no matter what, but she couldn't help but be terrified of whatever he was up to. He was, after all, the Dark One.

* * *

_Six months later_

"We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of a very good man. A man we all knew as a kind shepherd, a loving husband and father, and most of all, as a dear friend."

Daniel took a deep breath and dared look at his audience. Ruth was barely managing to hold back tears sandwiched between James and Regina. In Regina's arms, little Henry was solemnly chewing the ear of his stuffed horse, not really understanding what was going on.

"When my wife and I first came to this village, we had never lived out in the country before. We were extremely fortunate to have him and his wife Ruth to teach us how, and I am proud that I will always be able to call him friend."

Ruth smiled, as did a few others. "Who else has some fond memories of him they would like to share?"

Everyone glanced at Ruth, expecting her to say something, but she drew back into her son's arms. They weren't ready to speak. Regina glanced at him helplessly, not wanting to leave their side.

"He let me pet the lambs!" Henry blurted out. A few people chuckled.

Daniels smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Henry. That was a very nice memory. How about someone else?"

One by one, the friends of Ruth's now gone husband came forward to share their fond memories of the old man. At the end of the day, Ruth and James went back to their farm alone, insisted they needed some time to themselves.

"Daniel," Regina remarked softly as they went back home. "James is responsible for the whole flock, now. The whole farm."

"I know. If anything happens to the farm, I'm sure we can take James on as a stable hand."

"Of course."

Daniel felt a small hand tug on his sleeve. "Dada? Where mister shepherd go?"

Daniel smiled. "He's gone, Henry." He scooped up the little boy. "When good people die, they go to a beautiful meadow and they can't come back."

"Oh."

About fifty feet away, the little family was being watched in wonder by the man who had _finally_ found them. Unfortunately, the spell that he had used to prevent Cora from being able to get to them quickly had also made them harder for _him_ to find. Which is why it had taken him six months after he had finally realized what he needed them for. It was time to make his move

"Henry, I need you to let me wash your horsey, okay?" Regina prodded gently. The little boy shook his head. "Come on. He's getting all dirty."

"I like him dirty."

"Maybe you should wait for another day?" Daniel suggested.

"Can we have chicken for dinner?" asked Henry.

Regina relented and let him get away with changing the subject. "Right now all we have are beans and rice. Maybe we can have chicken in a few more days."

Daniel glanced up. "Regina, who's that?"

Regina blinked in surprise when she saw what he was looking at. "Is that a _dwarf_ leading a horse?"

They watched at the short man made his way up the walk leading a sleek young filly. "Hello, friends! Can I interest you in a valuable horse for a very reasonable price?"

Then, too quickly for either of them to react, the dwarf ripped off a lock of Regina's hair and one of Daniel's hairs as well.

"That should do!"

Suspicious, Regina hugged Henry close and stepped back behind her husband. "What on earth do you want of our hair?"

"What do _you_ want of it now that it's been plucked from your heads? Do we have a deal?"

"Um…sure?"

The dwarf tossed the horse's lead rope into Daniel's hand, giggled, and vanished into thin air.

"That was odd."

A little burst of light brought the dwarf into Rumpelstiltskin's potions room, where he too had returned at last. "Here you go, master!" cried the dwarf.

Rumpelstiltskin took the hairs and giggled with delight. "That should do, Cheery. You can have the rest of the day off." The dwarf happily skipped off.

A little sprinkle of fairy dust and the two strands of hair set the one empty bottle aglow. He had done it. He had bottled true love.

"I'm on my way, Baelfire."

* * *

Bittersweet tears filled Ruth's eyes as her fingertips brushed the top of a wooden grave marker. Two more months and it will have been there for one year. In the background, her son spoke reassuringly to a ram who had gotten his leg caught in the fence.

"I miss you so much, my love," she whispered to her deceased husband. "James is becoming more like you every day."

James was putting all of his energy into tending the flock these days. He didn't mind. He loved his flock. And Daniel and Regina had taken his horse back to live at their farm for the time being, but that was all the help Ruth and James would accept from them, even after being forced to sell quite a few sheep because there were only so many James could care for alone.

"Miss Ruth! Miss Ruth! Hi!"

Ruth smiled when she saw little Henry tearing over to her. "Where's your Mama, Henry?"

"She comin' over. I'm helping James pet sheep, okay?"

Ruth smiled. "Make sure you ask him which ones are nice first."

"Okay!"

Regina followed right up behind him holding a basket full of apples. "I just came by to ask if you wanted to taste the first apples from my tree."

Ruth took a shiny red apple from Regina's hand and bit into it. Her agreeable smile told Regina it was delicious as always. "Come on in. It's about time I teach you how to make apple pie."

"How's James been doing lately?" asked Regina as she began slicing one of her apples.

"He's okay. Good as can be expected."

Regina glanced out the door. James was holding Henry on his knee and letting him pet a large ewe and feel the lambs growing inside her belly. James was going to be an amazing father someday.

"Why don't you let me finish cutting the apples dear? You can get started kneading the dough."

And that's when she appeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

* * *

"It's safe to come in here, Belle. Cora is out running errands for me."

Belle hesitated, then nudged open the door just as a drop of pink liquid made contact with the parchment Rumpel was holding in his hand. It glowed purple for a few seconds before suddenly rolling up into a little scroll, thereby confirming for him that he had just created the dark curse. The normally somewhat-charming-at-least-to-her laugh that followed made Belle's skin crawl.

"What's that?" she asked fearfully.

"It's what will get me back to my Baelfire."

"Is…is that your…"

"My son, yes. I think it's time I told you what happened to him." He motioned for her to sit down next to him. When she did so, he took her hand in his and smiled.

"Once upon a time," he began. "There lived a cowardly man and his wife Milah."

* * *

One time when Regina was twelve, just starting her riding lessons with Daniel, she'd fallen off her horse going over a small jump. Her father had set up the jump for himself in the same field she always practiced in, so when she'd gotten on the same horse and nudged him into a trot, he'd assumed she wanted to go over it too. She hadn't been expecting it, he'd just seen the jump and leapt. Neither she nor Daniel had had time to react. She slid down from the saddle, the reins coming lose from her fingers, and her body had hit the ground followed by her head. She'd felt dizzy, her stomach reeling as if somebody had just punched her in the gut and her head throbbing. She could hear her own heart pounding as Daniel ran over and yelled, "Regina! Regina! Are you okay?"

Right now, she felt the same way. The sound of her own heart pounding echoed through her ears. Her mother. Cora. Was here. At Ruth's house. Looking at Henry. Only a few feet away from Regina. Cora was here. Cora was here. Cora was here.

"Regina! Regina! Are you okay?"

"Don't let her see me," the words came out in a rough whisper. "Don't let her know I'm here."

And then everything went dark.

* * *

"Regina!"

Ruth tried in vain to catch the younger woman before she hit the ground. Physically, Regina seemed unharmed. Maybe she was just unnerved by the sight of the witch who was out there with James, Henry, and the flock. Ruth tossed her apron on the ground and quickly went outside. When she got there, James was talking to the witch and holding Henry protectively.

"Who are you?" Ruth demanded.

"I'm here on behalf of the dark one."

Ruth's face fell. What was going on? James looked like he was about to cry.

"Mother? What is this about a twin brother you gave away?"

"Who is this?" the witch gestured to Henry. "Is this your grandson?"

James began, "No, he's…"

"We're just babysitting him." Ruth pulled Henry away from James and set him on the ground. "Go home to your father." The little boy took off up the road.

James glanced at her. "You can't send him al-"

"He doesn't live far anyway," Ruth insisted, even though Daniel and Regina lived about a mile away. "Now, what is this?"

The witch explained what she wanted James to do, and then Ruth explained why she and her husband had given up their now deceased son.

"You don't have to do this, James," Ruth pleaded.

"But I will."

"Why?"

"Because it's the honorable thing to do. This will help the man who raised my brother, and it will help the whole kingdom." James turned back to the witch. "I shall take my horse and leave tonight."

She smiled. "_Excellent_. The dark one will be pleased with you."

And then she vanished.

* * *

_Little Regina sat at her mother's table swinging her legs as she picked at a plate of scrambled eggs. "Ith breakfatht over, Mother?"_

"_No. And you need to get rid of that lisp. You're almost four-and-a-half, it's not cute anymore_."

_"Yethhhsss Mother."_

_"Are you going to be good today, Regina?"_

_"I'll try."_

_Cora cupped her little daughter's head in her hand for a moment. "You hear the hearts beating when the fireplace is off, right? You know those are the hearts of the people who weren't good to your Mother?"_

_"Yethhhsss," whispered Regina._

_"So you'll be good, won't you? You'll practice your curtseys until lunchtime."_

_"Yethhhsss Mother. I'll be good. I'll be real good."_

_"I'm so glad to hear that, my love."_

_Those beating hearts had served as a reminder throughout her entire childhood that if she wasn't good, one of them could be hers. She had always tried to be good, but it had never been enough. Complaining about how much she was having to practice curtseys and the like resulted in her being chained to the table with her mouth clamped shut. Not doing them well enough resulted in being locked outside for a few hours and told to go think about all the things she did wrong. She was twelve before she was old enough to leave the property, and that was only to go to finishing school. Before then her mother had told her she wasn't allowed to go because she didn't deserve to have friends yet._

_"You need to not make the mistake of thinking you have any control over your own life, Regina. I am your mother, and I have made a lot of sacrifices in life so that you could get me where I want to go. Do as you're told, or you will be sorry."_

_Listen to the beating hearts. Do as you're told. Listen to the heartbeat. Do as you're told. Do as you're told._

Regina felt herself jerk into a sitting position almost involuntarily and suck in a massive breath of air. Her own heart was pounding franticly. She took a moment to glance around. She was on the floor of Ruth's living room. Daniel was sitting next to her. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

"It was Cora, wasn't it?"

Regina's eyes landed on the crackling fireplace in front of her. _Listen to the beating hearts. Do as you're told. It could happen to you, too. Listen to the beating hearts. Do as you're told. Do as you're told._

"Regina?" she felt him shake her shoulder. "Was she here?"

"Daniel…" she whispered hoarsely. "I'm not okay."

"She's gone. We're safe." He pulled her close to his chest and tried to rub her back as Ruth stepped in.

"Are you okay, dear?"

"She'll be fine." Daniel thought for a second about how on earth he would be able to take her back to the farm in this state. "Is it okay if she spends the night?"

"Of course."

The door opened and James and Henry came in. "Mama?" Henry ran over. "Mama, you okay?" he tapped her shoulder.

"I think Mama needs to spend the night here tonight, Henry."

"Stay with her," James insisted. "I can go back to the farm and take care of the horses for you. My flock is already in for the night."

Ruth smiled. Her son was becoming such a gentleman. Maybe _too_ much for his own good.

"Hey, Henry," James glanced at the little boy. "Want to come with me?"

Henry shook his head. "Wanna stay with Mama, too."

Daniel smiled. Ruth took Henry's hand. "Why don't you come help me get your Mama something to eat? She'll be right here."

Henry hesitated, and then solemnly followed along behind her, his thick dark hair slightly tousled. James quickly smiled at Daniel and Regina and then left.

"She's, gone, Regina," Daniel whispered. "I promise. Ruth said she wasn't even here looking for you, and she didn't see you or find out you're here."

Regina wrapped her arms more tightly around her husband. He sighed and pulled her closer to his chest and kissed her on the forehead.

"You have nothing to be afraid of," he whispered. He considered trying to convince her it was just another nightmare, but then he remembered she hadn't had a nightmare about Cora in six months. Now they would probably be back.

Daniel glanced up when he heard Henry's little footsteps dart back into the room.

"Mama needs to have dinner with us," Henry insisted.

"She might not be feeling well enough, Henry."

Henry shook his head. "She's sick. She needs to keep up her strength."

Daniel laughed. "She's not sick, Henry. She's just…" he wasn't sure how to explain this one.

"Mama's gonna get all better," Henry insisted. He let himself drop down on top of his mother and hug her. Daniel was worried for a split second about how she'd react, but she just wordlessly wrapped one of her arms around the child and held him close. The scariest part of all to her had been that Cora had seen her son. Losing him was her worst nightmare of all.

They all had dinner with Ruth a little while later. Regina didn't say anything, and Ruth and Daniel both just talked to Henry while he chatered about horses and sheep and why he thought Ruth and James should give all the sheep names that rhymed with Henry. Soon after, Henry fell asleep near the fireplace, which Regina still couldn't look at without having flashbacks.

"You two can sleep in David's room, if you like," Ruth offered.

"That's okay," Daniel insisted. He wanted to stay in the same room as both his wife and son tonight. Although, there was the possibility that Regina would have a screaming nightmare and Henry would wake up. He certainly didn't want that.

"That was my mother," Regina whispered.

Ruth froze in her tracks. "_What_?"

"That sorceress. She was my mother."

Ruth immediately put down the lantern she was holding and gave the younger woman a hug.

"She_ told _me she was here on behalf of the dark one," said Ruth. "She called him _master_."

"That doesn't surprise me," said Daniel.

"She rips people's hearts out when she wants to control them, and if they displease her, she crushes them," muttered Regina shakily. The look on Ruth's face shifted from concern to horror. The thought that The Dark One was not only apparently capable of that level of evil but was recruiting apprentices to do the same made her not only ache for Regina, but feel a little worse about their whole world. Everyone looked up with a slight start when the door to the house opened and James walked in.

"I couldn't help but overhear," he muttered sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Regina."

"It's okay," she whispered.

"I wonder if there's anything that can be done to stop dark magic," James speculated. "Maybe suspend the dark one's magical abilities and see if the rest stop, too."

"If there's a way to accompish that, it's something far beyond our capabilities," Daniel assured James nervously.

"Maybe not. If all goes well, you're about to have a friend in a high place."

Daniel and Regina both glanced up at James in confusion.

"The king wants me at his palace soon to do something for him. After that's done, if there is _anything_ else he could use me for, I will make a deal with him that will put the dark one himself behind bars for good."

* * *

**A/N: THANK YOU all for all your lovely reviews! I really appreciate them! Anytime you review my stories I'll try and read and review some of your Once Upon A Time fics, too!**


	4. Taking Steps and Turning Tables

Rumpelstiltskin didn't even bother to look up when he heard the footsteps coming down the hall. He knew Belle was upstairs reading, and there was only one other person who ever came here.

"I've decided I'm done running errands for you," Cora announced.

"All well and good, dearie. I have the curse ready, anyway."

Cora's eyes widened slightly with disbelief. Rumpelstiltskin pulled out the tiny scroll and set it in her hand. Her fist closed around it instantly, her face shining with triumph, as if this were _her _accomplishment.

"All that's left to do, is discuss what _exactly_ you want to accomplish with this curse. If you wanted to, you could destroy the happiness of everyone around you!"

"No. I don't need to make everyone else miserable. I just need to make_ myself_ happy."

Rumpelstiltskin folded his arms across the back of the chair he was sitting in. "Let me explain to you what's going to happen after you enact the curse. There will be a brief period of limbo-thirty-six hours to be exact, that you will have to arrange the pieces as you see fit. No one will remember who they were in this land, but they _will_ remember their loved ones and will lead similar lives to the lives they lived here unless you decide otherwise."

"Isn't this all something I can think about _after_ I enact the curse?"

"Except for one tiny-little detail!" chirped Rumpelstiltskin. "You will only have the power to alter the fate of those who are in the same kingdom as you when the curse is enacted. And I believe I can think of someone in particular who isn't in this kingdom right now who's life you want to control more than anything."

Cora's face turned to stone. "_Regina_." The dark one's omnipresent grin widened ever so slightly. "You know where she is and you didn't tell me."

"I recently learned that she and her new family are living outside King White's kingdom. Sorry, dearie, but that's all I can tell you."

Cora huffed and marched out of Rumpelstiltsin's manor angrily, determined to find where Regina was living. She quickly fashioned an orb to keep the Dark Curse safely hidden in.

Behind her back, the dark one was satisfied. This should give him more than enough time to finalize getting his affairs in order.

* * *

"Daddy? Daddy?"

Daniel glanced up from the horse stall he was standing in with a pitchfork and a wheelbarrow full of hay. His little son came into view and ran right up to the stall.

"Mommy's sick."

Daniel set the pitchfork down.

"Did she tell you to come get me again?"

Henry shook his head. "Make her better."

"Come on." Daniel took Henry's hand and they walked back up to the house. Two weeks had passed since Cora's appearance at Ruth's farm, and for the first few days Regina had been in such a state he'd been afraid to leave her alone. She seemed like she was starting to feel better, though. At least in the daytime.

To both Daniel and Henry's relief, Regina was smiling and beaming when they walked through the door. It was evident by the sparkle in her eyes that this wasn't just a mask for Henry.

"Is everything good? Henry told me you were sick."

"Not really."

"You said you were dizzy, Mommy."

"I was, but I'm okay now." Regina grabbed Daniel's arm. "Daniel…you know how you wanted to give Henry's old crib to the grain merchant's daughter as a wedding present?"

"Yeah?"

Regina's eyes twinkled. "We…um…probably shouldn't do that."

"Are you…" Regina nodded. Henry watched in confusion as his father picked up his mother, spun her around, and then pulled her in for a kiss.

"Eww…" mumbled the little boy.

Daniel laughed and hugged his wife close. "Guess what, Henry? You're going to be a big brother!"

Henry's eyes widened. "You're gonna grow a real _baby_? Like the cattle rancher and his wife did? Cool!" Regina pulled back from Daniel and smiled at Henry. "I'm gonna name him Tickles!"

Daniel started to laugh. Henry frowned. "Nickers? Gallant? Excellence? Fireball?"

"Henry, we can't name the new baby after one of our horses," said Regina gently as her husband just laughed even harder.

"Oh. Then let's call him…_Henry_!"

"We can't do that," Regina ruffled her son's dark hair. "We already have a Henry."

"Then let's call him James."

"Henry, you do realize you might be getting a baby sister, right?" Daniel pointed out.

Henry shook his head. "Nope. It's a boy. And I'm gonna call him James." His parents exchanged amused glances. "When's James gonna stop being a knight and come back home?"

Daniel smiled sadly. "I don't know, son."

"If he doesn't come home by the time I turn five, I'm gonna be a knight too and go get him. Okay?"

"Sure," mumbled Regina as she gave her little boy a quick hug. "Why don't you and Daddy go visit Miss Ruth while I take care of the horses now? You promised you'd go over to help her today, right?"

"Okay!" Henry grabbed Daniel's hand and began pulling him towards the door.

Daniel glanced back. "You sure you'll be okay?"

"Absolutely."

Regina spent the rest of the afternoon caring for and exercising her horses, embracing her new sense of optimism. Things were far from perfect to be sure, and having another baby wouldn't change any of that. But at least it would bring them hope for the future.

* * *

Homesick as James was for his village, the farm, and his Mother, he was quite pleased with himself for getting into the position he was in. Not only had he managed to slay the dragon himself, which even King George hadn't expected him to do, but he'd impressed King Midas enough that he felt worthy of his daughter. James was pushing aside his uneasiness about this union for the sole reason that once he married Abigail and became the future heir to not one, but _two _kingdoms, there was no one who would dream of getting in the way of his plans to imprison the dark one. Still, he did hate himself a little for giving up the possibility of true love to seal a deal, and he did feel a touch guilty about the fact that he was locking Abigail into a loveless arranged marriage. Or at least he would if she weren't so snooty all the time.

"Do you, Prince James, take this woman, Princess Abigail, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor, and cherish until death do you part?"

James nodded. "I do."

"And do you, Princess Abigail, take this man, Prince James, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to-"

"I do," Abigail cut him off stiffly. The unsuspecting audience giggled.

They exchanged rings, and it was done. "You may now kiss the bride."

Hesitantly, James brushed back the delicate veil on his bride, looking about as gorgeous and happy as a porcelain doll standing alone on the shelf who's smile had been carelessly drawn on with a thin paintbrush. James leaned in for the kiss, and his lips met hers. She stood still while he held the kiss together just long enough to please their audience. It occurred to James that he had probably kissed apples with more passion.

During the reception, James chatted amicably with King Midas, King Maurice, and a number of the lords in attendance under King George's approving eye. He hadn't been sure what the old man had thought of him at first, but his attitude towards James had instantly changed the minute he had accepted the marriage proposal without any hesitation and had gradually improved ever since. It still bothered James that the king insisted he call him father not only in public but in private, because he didn't think of King George as a father and never would.

"So, James," asked a cousin of King Maurice's. "Where are you and Abigail planning to live?"

"For now, we'll stay at her father's palace. I imagine we'll be travelling back and forth quite a bit."

In that instant, James happened to glance at Princess Abigail out of the corner of his eye and saw her standing off to the side gazing at a rose bush. He realized after another few seconds that she was crying. This was the first sign of emotion he'd seen from her, and twisted his heart unexpectedly. What had he done to this girl who he barely even knew?

"James?" King George prodded, causing his surrogate son to glance up with a start. "Lord Chester just asked you a question."

"Sorry, sir. What is it?"

"I asked if you and Abigail are planning children anytime soon."

Whoa. He hadn't even thought about that. "We haven't discussed it yet."

King George raised an eyebrow. "Meaning that you haven't discussed _when_ you're going to have children?"

"Exactly," James confirmed. "It will definitely happen someday." Of course it would. Next to running the kingdom effectively, a royal's greatest obligation was to reproduce. Not that that was a problem. James had always wanted a son. But having children with Abigail just felt too bizarre for him think about. As did the conception of said children.

When the reception was over, and he and Abigail embarked in the carriage for their ride back to the palace, the realization hit him like a punch in the stomach. He had a wife now. A new home. A kingdom. This had become far from something he could just do and be back in a few months, returning the conquering hero to his mother and his farm. There was no going back from the place he'd put himself in.

"James? You look a little pale."

James blinked as he glanced up at his bride. "Just a little dizzy from all the…excitement."

Abigail smirked. "Did you drink any of the red stuff? Because it's _not_ grape juice." James shook his head. "Or is this all just too much for you, Mr. son-of-a-shepherd?"

"How did you…"

"I have ears in the king's court," Abigail confessed. "I was hoping you'd try to run away right before the ceremony. Two of my most trusted knights were ready to help, with provisions and everything."

James half-laughed. "If you were that horrified by the idea of marrying a commoner, why didn't you just say something to your father?"

Abigail turned and faced the window. "It's nothing personal, James. I'm my father's only child, which means the future of his kingdom is in jeopardy if I don't get married, and the man I wanted to marry is…"

Abigail covered her mouth with her sleeve and closed her eyes tight.

"You lost someone," said James softly.

The princess nodded. "He was my true love. We were engaged to be married."

"I'm sorry."

Abigail nodded. "There's nothing you can do about it. What about you? Why do you agree to an arranged marriage?"

James didn't say anything. On the one hand, she had just told him something personal about herself and he felt he should return the favor. On the other hand, if she disapproved of his plan…

"Part of it was about ensuring my mother's survival. My father passed away around a year ago, and we've been having a hard time ever since. It was promised that if I agreed to stand in for my brother, she and our farm would be taken care of."

"So that's why you agreed to come here and slay the dragon in the first place."

"Yes."

"But I asked you why you agreed to marry me."

Janes relented. "I'll tell you later. When we're alone."

* * *

J

Proudly, Rumpelstiltskin encased his true love potion in a protective egg with a hard shell. Now the only issue was of how he was going to manage to bring it to the other world in a way that Cora didn't notice.

"Cheery, come over here!" he called to the dwarf.

The dwarf bolted over eagerly. "Yes, Master?"

"I have a task for you." Cheery squealed with delight. "There is a beast living in a nearby castle. I need you to go to it and feed it this wonderful, magical, egg."

"Yes, Master!" Cheery's grin widened slightly as he took the egg from Rumpelstiltskin and saluted him.

"Just remember. No matter what happens, stand still, and let the beast devour the egg, and I promise you your master will be _very_ happy with you."

The next second, he glanced up and Belle was in the doorway. "Rumpelstiltskin? A word?" He began walking over to her. "_Before_ you send him off to do his duty."

"No problem." Confused, Rumpelstilskin followed Belle halfway down the hall. She stopped, turned around, and looked him sternly in the eye.

"You were just about to send that man to his death."

"He's not a man, Belle."

"He's innocent."

"Nothing is innocent, dearie."

"Am I innocent?"

The dark one froze, obviously caught off guard. He looked down and off to the side.

"This has something to do with that…that spell you're planning to get back to your son, doesn't it? You promised me that you wouldn't have any human killed in the process."

"Like I just said, Belle, he's not a man."

"How many times have I asked you not to toy with words like that?" The Dark One didn't say anything. "I mean it, Rumpelstiltskin. If you let that dwarf, who has shown nothing but kindness towards you, die so that you can safeguard a potion, I'm not going with you."

Little did she know that she would be going with him to the new land whether she liked it or not. Whether she would agree to _be_ with him in the new land was another question entirely.

"Alright, dearie. You win. I won't let anything happen to the dwarf. I'll hire a trained knight to help me safeguard the potion." Belle nodded and let her face relax into a smile. "And to answer your earlier question…yes, Belle. You are innocent. But only you."

"Why? Because you care about me? _Everyone_ has someone who cares about them, Rumpel. Think about _that_."

As Belle disappeared down the hall, Rumpelstiltskin happened to glance at a pair of gloves Cora had left lying around on a windowsill.

"Not everyone, dearie," he whispered to himself. "Not everyone."

* * *

James didn't discuss his plans with Abigail until they were alone in their bedchamber dressed for sleep, her blonde hair spilling down her shoulders and her face fresh without the touches of makeup she'd warn for the wedding.

"Obviously, first I'll have to seek out a prison for him. And maybe some sort of good magic to help me do it. If I can figure out who has good magic."

Abigail smiled. "Fairies. Fairies have good magic. My family used to do business with one. I can show you where to find the blue fairy. They might allow you to convert some old dwarf mines into a prison for him."

James just smiled. "I take it you're willing to help me with this?"

"More than willing. If I have to be in an arranged marriage, at least it should be for the greater good. If I can help you rid the land of dark magic, I can say that my Fredrick's sacrifice wasn't in vain."

"Of course." James caught the faraway expression in her eyes and thought about asking her what happened to Fredrick, but he'd gotten enough personal information out of her for the day. "So…I'm kind of tired. Goodnight?"

Abigail smiled gratefully. "Me too." Both rolled over in bed and blew out their candles. As he and his wife fell asleep across from each other in their marriage bed, James finally started to feel that his own life was going to be okay.


	5. The Prisoner's Dilemma

**A/N: For those of you who might be wondering why I haven't included Snow or Snowing yet, rest assured, she WILL be part of this story. So far there hasn't been a place for her because since Regina never married Leopold, Snow White never had to run away from the castle or resort to a life of crime, so of course she never met James while he was traveling.**

**And curse the show for contradicting itself. The way that James was talking at the beginning of the season about how "David" had different memories than he did and how much he hated "David" for treating his woman badly, there is no way that David was when Ruth originally named him. NOT BUYING IT 2.14!**

* * *

James might never come back.

Ruth was eating dinner alone when she finally realized it, She hadn't even made too much this time. She was lifting a spoon to her lips and just looking out the window at a ewe in the pen licking her baby lamb clean under the setting sun, and it suddenly hit her like a bolt of lightning. James was gone. The Dark One had robbed her of both of her sons.

Ruth leased out her land and flock to a young couple, refusing to part with them entirely because of the sliver of hope she had of James returning. She got herself a small place in town, which Daniel and Regina helped pay for in exchange for her looking after Henry during the day while they were taking care of the horses. At least when Regina was feeling well enough to take care of the horses.

"Ruth, do we have any peppermint tea left over from this morning?" Regina asked weakly as she sat herself down in a wooden chair.

"Of course, dear. Just relax. I'll get you some."

Regina smiled gratefully. Henry, who'd been quietly playing in a corner with some stuffed animals, walked over to her, crossed his arms, and glared at her. "I don't like the baby, Mama. It's making you sick!"

Regina weakly stroked her little boy's forehead. "You made me sick sometimes too, Henry. Babies can't help what they do before they're born."

"When's he gonna stop making you sick?"

"In another month or two," Regina explained. "And I told you. It might be a girl."

"Nope. It's a boy. And his name is James, because then James will _have_ to come home and look at it."

Regina sighed. "I don't think it's likely that James will be home in time to see the baby, Henry. I told you. He went off to go be a brave knight and slay dragons and protect the kingdom."

"For how long?"

Regina looked over Henry's shoulder and saw tears forming in Ruth's eyes. "Why don't you go outside and help your Daddy with the horses?"

"Okay." Henry darted outside. Regina had the feeling the question was going to come up again.

"Here's your tea." Ruth walked over with an obviously fake smile and handed Regina the teacup.

"Thank you." Regina accepted the cup and felt it's smooth warmth in her hand as Ruth began humming to herself and walking around the house tucking away things that Henry had pulled out of place and played with. "Ruth?" The older woman looked up. "You know you don't have to be strong for me."

Ruth smiled and squeezed Regina's hand. "I'm not. I'm being strong for me."

* * *

In a dark forest a few nights later, James and Abigail were riding along with two of their most trusted knights behind them. Abigail glanced at a strangely shaped rock on the ground and halted. James realized this must be some sort of marker.

"We'd best go on foot from here," Abigail whispered. "And leave the horses and our knights where we stand. We don't want Reul Ghorm to feel threatened."

James followed suit as she dismounted her horse and handed her reins to the knights. He was still reasonably wary of trusting Abigail…after all, he had just met this woman…but he really had no choice. He definitely didn't trust King George or King Midas enough to ask for their help, and he didn't know this part of the kingdom or this way of life enough to accomplish this on his own.

"Reul Ghorm, I summon thee," Abigail called out softly as soon as they were out of earshot of the knights.

James just glanced around for a minute. He was about to ask Abigail if perhaps they had come to the wrong place when he saw a tiny blue speck moving towards them.

"Reul Ghorm is a butterfly?"

"Fairy," Abigail corrected.

James hadn't expected her to be so small.

"Prince James and Princess Abigail."

He hadn't been expecting her to know who they were, either.

"Your quest is a noble one, but I'm afraid it's impossible for you to use good magic to imprison the Dark Lord for more than a short time. You will only be able to suspend his power indefinitely by using the ink of a powerful species of squid and imprisoning him someplace where he has no access to anything with magical properties."

Or what they needed.

"That's quite all right," said Abigail respectfully, apparently unphased by the fairy's extensive background knowledge about them. "Would you please tell us where we might go about obtaining the ink of such a squid?"

"When the timing is right, I will give you a quill dipped in the squid ink," the fairy promised. "But I have to warn you…all magic comes with a price. Good magic is safe to use because we fairies pay the price for it with hard work and dedication. Dark magic isn't like that. You need to know going in that you could suffer severe consequences."

James and Abigail exchanged glances.

"We'll pay the price," said James confidently. If Abigail didn't want to pay it, he'd pay it for both of them. He was already sacrificing true love, his childhood home, and possibly his happiness for this.

"Here's what you need to do," explained the blue fairy. "First, you need to figure out what you might have that he wants. Then, you need to make a deal with him and ask him to sign a contract with the quill I give you. The deal will never be sealed, the moment he tries to write with the quill, he will be frozen and his magic suspended."

"Perhaps we could lure him with a promise of my father's gold," Abigail suggested.

"That won't do, I'm afraid. He _makes_ gold."

"Then what _does_ he want?" asked Abigail.

"I'm sure you can think of something."

"Can you give us a…" James fell silent when he realized Reul Ghorm had vanished.

"We have enough," Abigail assured him. "She'll know when to come back and bring us the quill."

* * *

As much as Belle _and _Rumpelstiltskin wanted to believe he'd changed for the better as a result of his association with her, the truth was he had a long way to go. And he definitely wasn't quite done toying with words. He had promised her that he _personally_ would not have any person killed in the process of casting the dark curse. But there was someone who would die anyway. Someone who he suspected was a loved wife, mother, and friend.

"Locks from those with the darkest souls, the strength of something you hold too close," was what was written on the piece of parchment Cora had yet to unfurl. It was quite obvious what the curse required her to obtain. And he had a good guess as to who she would need to get it from.

He knew Ruth would hate him even more than she already did forever. He knew Daniel would probably try to kill him. And then Cora. And then him again. He knew that the dark curse would result in at least one child losing a mother. Just like his Baelfire.

It was rare that a man such as the dark one felt something eating away at his conscience. It was rare that he felt he even had one. He never thought about what someone might be losing because of him. He was now, and he didn't like it. So he pushed the thought aside. There was work to be done.

* * *

A few days later, James and Abigail were enjoying a pleasant breakfast out on the veranda. They were King George's side of the kingdom at the moment, and he was stopping in periodically to check up on them. So far he seemed pleased with how well James and Abigail seemed to be getting along, and confident that the two would grow to truly love each other.

"The blue fairy delivered the quill this morning." James looked up as Abigail placed the slim mahogany box on the table between them James took a quick peak at the contents. Sure enough, the quill was there. "She says we'll be needing it very soon."

They were about to discuss the matter further when they were interrupted by the rattling of wheels. "There's my father's carriage outside," said Abigail suddenly. "I'll have the servants prepare an extra place at our table. We must prepare to greet him."

Abigail went inside and disappeared into the kitchen. James was about to get up and put on his cloak when a man suddenly appeared in the seat that Abigail had just been sitting in. James stood up in a flash and drew his sword.

"Who are you?"

The man just laughed. "That's not going to do you any good."

James nearly froze when he suddenly realized he was looking at the dark lord. His mind began racing. He hadn't expected the man to just show up.

"What are you here for?"

"I'm here to make a deal with you, of course. I believe you met my apprentice a short while ago."

"That witch."

"Yes. At this moment, she has in her possession a very powerful curse of mine that she is planning to cast very soon. If you do something for me, I will tell you how to ensure that the curse will be broken."

"And what might you have me do?" asked James.

"Simple." The dark one pulled a golden egg out of his cloak. "Hide this for me in the belly of a beast. I know you're experienced enough in the handling of dragons, and in this case, you don't even need to slay it!"

James didn't know what to say. He certainly hadn't envisioned the dark one approaching him with a deal he might actually want to make.

_Next time_, he thought to himself, ignoring the box containing the quill so that the powerful man wouldn't suspect anything.

"We have a deal." James caught the egg from Rumpelstiltskin, who then told him where to find the beast. James went to go explain to his wife and father that he had an errand to run.

* * *

"Tell me, Abigail, does my son have cause to be displeased with me? It's not like him to leave so early."

"You've done nothing to upset him, King George," Abigail assured him. "Or me. In fact, there's something I'd like to show you. Wait here."

King George smiled and continued sitting at the table. Abigail walked down the hall smiling politely at the servants who bowed down to her as she passed them. She stepped into a room where she and James had been keeping blueprints for a nursery-they had discussed the matter and agreed that pressure from the kingdom was inevitable-when suddenly she heard someone in the adjacent room whisper, "Psst!" Abigail went over and realized the blue fairy was waiting for her.

"What are you doing here?" asked Abigail respectfully.

"Your husband is doing business with the dark lord as we speak. You need to meet him by Lake Marigold tomorrow in four hours. Here's what you must do."

* * *

On the outskirts of King George's kingdom, an innkeeper's wife was humming idly to herself as she swept the porch of the inn. She glanced up and saw a hooded figured coming towards her who she was she sure she recognized.

"Are you looking for a room, miss?"

"Maybe," said the young woman. "Do you remember seeing me before?"

The innkeeper's wife paused, rested her chin on her broom handle, and narrowed her eyes a little as if to squint.

"Yes…yes, I believe I did. You're the woman who got married here about five years ago."

To her surprise, the younger woman's eyes narrowed. "You remember me getting married right here in your inn?"

The innkeeper's wife smiled. "Of course I do. I was the one who insisted you get married before spending the night with your fiance in my inn and forced my husband to perform the ceremony."

That was the last thing she ever said before the young woman's fingers snapped. The former innkeeper's wife croaked and hopped away.

After a few minutes and a few hundred feet away, Cora changed back into her true form and walked off, quite pleased. She finally knew what kingdom her daughter had been married in. Regina can't have gone too far from here. Not unless she and her new husband, whoever he was, had decided to live their lives on the run.

"I'm almost there, Regina," Cora whispered to herself.

* * *

As the blue fairy predicted, in just a little over four hours, James had found the location of the beast, done his duty, and pulled himself up on the riverbank, sword in hand.

"Congratulations. You did it."

Not even surprised the dark one was waiting for him, James gasped for breath.

"Now it's time for me to hold up my end of the bargain." He waited for a moment for James to catch his breath. "The curse that the witch is planning to cast can only be broken by the product of true love: the child of Daniel and Regina."

James was caught off guard by the mention of his old friends. Did this have something to do with Cora being Regina's mother?

"You must get this child to safety," explained the dark one. "If you succeed, the curse will be broken in twenty-eight years.

"Hold on. We'll be cursed for twenty-eight years?"

"Oh, don't worry. It will only feel like a few months to you. Time will freeze. No one will age. No one will be injured or killed."

James was about to ask for more information when he noticed Abigail trotting up the path alone.

"Abigail…what are you…"

"James! Thank goodness." Abigail swiftly dismounted her horse and bowed down to the dark one. "I've come with horrible news. My father is furious with us. He's disowned me and taken back all the gold he gave us."

"_What_?"

The dark one raised an eyebrow. He sensed the prince and princess didn't want him to leave just yet. Sure enough, the princess turned to address him.

"I hear that you're capable of making gold, just as my father is. I'm willing to trade you our firstborn child for enough gold to feed the kingdom for a month." James watched her carefully as she pulled a scroll out of her saddlebag and unfurled it, then held out a quill.

"Are you sure you're willing to give up your own flesh and blood to fill your coffers?"

"Yes, indeed," James stepped to his wife's side. "We can always have more children." Abigail nodded.

"My," muttered Rumpelstiltskin. "What a _lovely_ quill! Wherever did you get it?"

James and Abigail both shrugged nonchalantly. "From our palace."

"I hope for your sakes that this quill doesn't contain magic that could, say, imprison me. In case you haven't been told…all magic…comes with a price!"

James didn't let the dark one see how uneasy he was feeling. "We have no desire to use magic for anything. All we want is to take care of our kingdom. Do we have a deal?"

The Dark One hesitated before plucking the quill from Abigail's hand. The moment he attempted to use it to write, he froze solid in place. Abigail spun around and yelled, "_Now!_"

Rumpelstiltskin remained motionless as the palace guards loaded him into a cage and grit his teeth when he noticed the blue fairy descend and fly over to James and Abigail to congratulate them. He kept starring at them, expecting something bad to happen, but nothing did. Then he realized that since they hadn't technically broken a deal with them, magic itself wouldn't be punishing them in this case. He himself had punished them without even realizing it, because Abigail had interrupted the dark one just before he was about to reveal one tiny little detail about the curse.

They were all going to be in the same kingdom as Cora when she cast it.

* * *

An evil spark lit up Cora's beady eyes the moment she saw her. Even from several hundred feet away and up in a tree posing as a raven, she recognized her own daughter. There was Regina, stroking a horse's nose before removing its halter and releasing it into a paddock. When she turned to face Cora's direction, it became apparent that she was just barely visibly pregnant.

"I'm going to be a grandma," Cora whispered to herself. Or would have, if she wasn't a bird at the moment. Instead it came out as a series of soft chirps.

"Mama! Look! A Birdie!"

Cora the raven cocked her head in the direction of a small boy with dark curls and light hazel eyes. The boy's father came outside and walked over to Regina.

_Checkmate._

"Henry, go inside for a minute so I can talk to your mother." The boy scampered off. "Did you hear the news?" asked Regina's husband. "James was true to his word. The dark one has been imprisoned!"

_Say what now?_

"He's powerless now. We're safe, Regina."

_Ha_. They had no idea. Cora had a right mind to turn herself back into a human right now and turn the man into a cockroach. But that wouldn't be quite satisfying enough. Not for the man who had taken Regina and turned her into a commoner.

Instead, she flew off to the outskirts of the village, transformed back into herself, and unrolled the scroll containing the dark curse.

* * *

"Is this true, what I've heard?" asked King George. "You and your wife have successfully imprisoned the dark one and permanently suspended him of his magic?"

"I saw it with my own eyes," Abigail confirmed, taking James's hand proudly.

"My boy," King George took James's other hand and shook it firmly. "I am so proud of you."

A kingdom-wide celebration commenced that night. The grandest party of all was, of course, the one at the palace. So much food prepared by the royal chefs and exquisite decorations and fine musicians. After greeting the guests and dancing a few obligatory dances with Abigail and friends of King George's, James stepped outside and sat down alone on the balcony. His friends back home were probably celebrating, too. He could almost taste the simple roast beef and ginger cake and sweet potato pudding and hear the village boys singing while strumming along on badly tuned guitars and see the couples dancing, the men wearing their finest slacks and the women in their most colorful dresses that looked like rags in comparison to what the ladies at the palace were wearing.

For a moment, James felt sorry for the man who he knew was lying in an indestructible cell because of him tonight.

Because he, too, felt irreversibly trapped.

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin rested on the earthy floor of his cell. He had been almost positive that this was going to happen, but it didn't matter. He'd sent Belle to a small village in this kingdom to hide. Cora had everything she needed to enact the curse.

He closed his eyes and rested his head against the stone for a moment. Any second now, she should be showing up to make her final deal with him. Any second. He would be sentencing an innocent mother to her death.

What would Baelfire think of him right now? Or Belle?

But they were the exact reasons that there was no turning back now. He said it himself all the time. Nothing was innocent.

Or maybe that was just what he told himself.

He pushed the thought from his mind. It didn't matter anymore. If he didn't help Cora enact the curse, Belle would be in danger. And he would never see his son again.

* * *

The curse hadn't worked.

Cora threw up her hands in disgust and walked away from the fire. She had gone to all the trouble to go home and obtain a heart from her collection and bring it back to this kingdom because clearly that was what the curse called for. And she had definitely put in locks of hair from those with the darkest souls. So what was the problem?

Unfortunately, the only way for her to figure out a solution was for her to go talk to the one who had given her the curse in the first place. With a flick of her wrist, Cora was down on all fours.

* * *

"It's just us, dearie. You can show yourself!"

In a swirl of purple smoke, the little rat crawling along the floor of Rumpelstiltskin's cell became Cora.

"I take it you've found your daughter?"

"Yes. And my grandson Henry. And that wretched man who took her from me."

"So what's the problem?"

"Now my curse isn't working. I need you to tell me what I'm doing wrong."

"That will come with a price."

"There's always a price with you."

"This isn't something that should cost you much." Rumpelstiltskin flicked his oily finger, gesturing for Cora to lean close to his ear. Then quietly, he named his price. Cora pulled back and gasped.

"You mean…that...that _servant girl_? You want me to make _her_ your…"

"It's what she and I both want."

"Why on earth would someone as powerful as you want someone like _her_?" Rumpelstiltskin didn't budge. Suddenly, something occurred to Cora. "I have a better offer for you. I'll obviously have myself in the highest position of power I can in this new land. Would you like to be with me?"

Rumpelstiltskin laughed.

"No offense, dearie. But I think I'd rather be trapped in this cell for all eternity."

Cora's face hardened. "Forget it. I don't need your help."

She disappeared. Then thirty seconds later, she reappeared on the outside of the cell.

"Okay, fine. You'll have her where you want her, Rumpelstiltskin. Now tell me what I did wrong."

"You need to sacrifice…a _heart_."

"I sacrificed the strongest heart I could find in my collection. Whoever it belonged to is dead now."

Much to Cora's distaste, the dark one burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"This is the curse to end _all curses._ You think the heart of someone you can no longer even identify is going to do? _No_." He hesitated and pushed away from his mind everything that was telling him not to say what he was about to say. "You have to cut the heart out of the thing you love the most."

Cora's face turned white.

"I have no idea where the thing I love the most is."

Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow.

"It's not Regina."


	6. Regarding Alan Part One

_You have to cut the heart out of the thing you love the most._

Cora stepped back from Rumpelstiltskin's cell.

"What's wrong, dearie? You look a little pale."

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, and Cora quickly turned herself back into a rat. Even in rodent form, the dark one could practically hear her heart pounding.

"You need to decide how far you're willing to go, dearie. You know what you love. Go kill it."

She scampered out of the building, and once she was outside, she turned herself into a hawk and flew away. Her heart never stopped pounding the whole time as long forgotten memories flashed before her eyes…

_There was a pale pink blanket outside. Little Cora was sitting on it. Watching a large wheel turn. A woman who's face she could not see smiled at her and called her baby daughter. Then a pale figure entered in rags. The woman's eyes lit up._

_"Have the ogre wars finally ended?"_

_The figure shook his head. "Your husband isn't coming home. He was killed in battle last night."_

_The woman's face turned white and she began screaming. The screams echoed around and pounded in Cora's head._

_Cora felt the cold wooded floors stinging her bare feet. Everything was dark. She made her way into a room, nudged the door open, and whispered, "Mama?" The woman she was referring to was crumpled on the floor with an empty bottle of poison in her hand._

_Soon after, a new man came to the mill. "Hi, Cora. I'm Ed. Your father's mill is mine now. And so are you. Go sweep the floor."_

_From that moment on, Cora was no longer anyone's child or anyone's family. She was a servant. She wasn't comforted when she cried at night or helped up when she fell. Work was all she was good for. Ed made that clear every day of her life. She was barely allowed any playtime at first, by the time she was seven she was allowed none. When she cried out in frustration, she was beaten and expected to get right back up and work after._

_Cora was standing on the kitchen cooking dinner for Ed and all his hired workers. A worker came in and smiled at her. "Lovely day, isn't it?"_

_The child shrugged. "I suppose so." The crisp spring air and smell of roses blooming didn't make this day any different from every other day._

_"Tsk, tsk. Such a bitter child." The man walked away._

_That summer, Cora was following Ed around at the market. She was carrying his satchel and a few other things he had bought. Cora glanced at the toy cart and saw a girl her exact height run up to it. She pointed excitedly to a little music box, the older man she was with pulled some coins out of his pocket and counted them, and the treasure was hers. The girl squealed and ran away._

_"Let's stop by the toy cart, Ed."_

_Ed laughed. "Cora, we wouldn't have money for toys even if you did have any time to play with them."_

_Cora stopped in her tracks. "That man over there just bought a toy for a girl my age. Why can't I have one, too?"_

_Ed let out an exasperated sigh. "It's simple, Cora. You're a servant. That girl isn't. Servants aren't allowed to have nice things. And they don't deserve to be loved."_

_Cora didn't budge. "I want it. If you don't get me that toy now, I'm not going to work for you anymore."_

_"Come here for a moment," Ed grabbed Cora by the hand and pulled her back behind a building so hard she was scared her arm was going to pop off. Then he slapped her across the face hard enough to make her head spin. And that was the end of that._

_Three years later, Cora was outside washing clothes on a washboard. Around her, men were working. The youngest man, just slightly older-looking than Cora herself, kept glancing over and starring at her. Cora noticed but never looked back at him._

_The next day, Cora was outside giving water to the thirsty men. The youngest man thanked her after he took his drink._

_"My name's Alan," he said._

_Cora glanced up. "Huh?" Alan just smiled and handed her a tiny bouquet of daisies. Cora accepted them and just giggled._

_"I'm a servant. I'm not allowed to have nice things."_

_"Everybody deserves nice things."_

_Cora just looked away from him and continued distributing water._

_A few days later, Alan came to Cora at the end of his workday and brought her a perfect white rose. This time she took it and put it in a vase. "Where did you get it?" she asked him._

_"I found it in one of my mother's bushes. It took me days to find the perfect one."_

_Cora just turned her back and didn't say anything._

_A few days after that, Alan gave Cora a pretty rock he'd looked for for her. She just took it and didn't say anything at all in response._

_For ten days after that, he didn't give her anything. He just smiled at her every time he saw her and told her she was pretty._

What does he know?_ Thought Cora._ Ed says servants can't be pretty.

_Then on the eleventh day after work, Alan walked over to Cora and motioned for her to come over again. Because she knew that Ed would get mad at her if she refused one of his workers a request, she obliged._

_"This is for you," said Alan. Cora gave her sarcastic smile and held out her hand, expecting another rock or flower. She gasped when what he pulled out of his satchel was a little hand-painted music box._

_"I bought it for you myself," said Alan._

_Cora's mouth dropped open in shock as she took it. "How…how much did this cost you?" she managed._

_Alan shrugged. "Just half this week's wages."_

_"Alan," whispered Cora, quickly tucking the music box into a pocket so that no one would notice it, "Why did you spend money on me? I'm only a servant."_

_Alan blushed. "And I'm only a boy who works at a mill. There's not much difference, right?"_

_"Of course there is!" said Cora. "Servants don't get paid, and they don't get nice things, and they don't deserve to be loved."_

_Alan shook his head. "I don't believe that. I think you deserve to be loved more than any other girl I've ever seen." He turned and walked away, leaving Cora to stare after him in awe._

_From that day on, Alan and Cora found a few minutes to talk at the end of each workday. Each flower he gave her was carefully pressed, and each pretty stone or rock was tucked away into the secret music box Cora kept under her pillow. In return for the gift he gave her, she gave him extra biscuits at mealtime and even the occasional cookie. Ed never found Cora's music box because she changed her own sheets, and he never noticed her friendship with Alan because he was too busy hanging out with the older workers._

_By the time three years passed, what Cora and Alan had was no longer nearly as innocent as what it had been before. They loved each other as much as a thirteen and fifteen-year-old were capable of loving one another. He stayed after work often to help her with whatever she was doing just so that he could talk to her, and often snuck back later so they could talk and whisper in the darkness. She was the light of his life, and he was her reason to continue getting up in the morning._

_"Alan," Cora whispered on evening. "Marry me."_

_Alan squeezed her hand in the darkness. "We're too young and poor to get married." Cora shook her head. Too young. Too poor. Whatever. Whenever she wasn't with Alan, Cora felt like her life was about as bad as it could possibly get._

_"I do intend to marry you," Alan insisted. "Just not now. I want to marry you when I have enough money to buy you a house and pretty things to put in it."_

_"Cora?" called Ed. "Cora, I need you to bring me some ice water."_

_"Coming, Ed!" Cora lowered her voice again and whispered, "I don't need pretty things. I just need you." She felt his lips meet hers briefly in the darkness, and then he snuck out._

_The next couple of years went by slowly. Alan promised Cora he was saving money to get their own place and showed her the money he was collecting._

_"I don't understand why you don't get paid too," said Alan. "Servants are supposed to get paid."_

_"Ed says my payment is getting to sleep under his roof and eat his food," said Cora. "It has been my whole life. My parents died when I was two, and he inherited me and my father's mill."_

_"But why would your parents have chosen him to inherit and not some other guy who was going to treat you well?"_

_Cora shrugged. "My mother killed herself after she knew my father had died. It's not like she really cared about me."_

_If it wasn't for the fact that the pay was the best he'd find in town and the fact that it was the only inconspicuous way for him to continue seeing Cora every day, Ed never would have stayed working at that mill knowing how she was being treated. It didn't help that now that she was fifteen and looked like a woman, some of the other workers were starting to make remarks about her that Alan didn't like._

_"What can I say?" said one worker about ten years Alan's senior to another. "I have a thing for young brunettes."_

_"Really?" teased his companion. "Then show it to her."_

_Alan clamped his jaw shut and continued what he was doing. The rest of the surrounding men laughed._

_"You'd best not be letting the boss man hear you say that. I doubt he'd like hearing anyone talk about his niece that way."_

_Alan froze. His _what_?_

_"Don't worry. He doesn't care about her any more than he cared about his sister. He probably works her like a slave because of how much she reminds him of her."_

_"I'll bet there won't be too terribly high a bride price for the girl, either. Young, fresh, and cheap. Whoever he decides to let marry her is gonna be one lucky bastard."_

_That did it. Alan put down what he was doing and marched away from the group of men._

_"Where do you think you're going, son?" hollered the oldest of the men._

_"I'm getting a drink!" Alan yelled back._

_Cora was in the kitchen mixing batter for a loaf of bread when she saw Alan marching away from the men and towards her. The door of the kitchen was flung open just as she was wiping the flour from her face. Wordlessly, Alan grabbed her and pulled her into a quick kiss._

_"Marry me," he whispered. "I'm done waiting for you. Pack your things, at the end of my workday I'll tell Ed I'm quitting, and then you'll meet me at the crossroads by the mercantile. I'd rather we stay with my parents for a few months than stick around here any longer."_

_"Yes," Cora whispered back. "I love you."_

_"I love you, too."_

_For the first time, Cora couldn't help but smile as she finished making lunch for the workers and dinner for her uncle and cleaning the house and sweeping the floor. She and Alan exchanged deliriously happy smiles whenever they could._

_All the while, Ed was upstairs doing his taxes. He got up when he heard a knock on his door and grumbled. Three of his workers were standing in his doorway._

_"How many times do I have to tell you, you don't get your wages until the _end _of the workday on payday?"_

_"We're not here for our wages."_

_"We're here to tell you there might be something going on between Alan and your niece."_

_"He told us he was going in to get a drink, but we took a look at what he was doing in the kitchen with her, and that wasn't it."_

_Ed's scowl deepened._

_"We didn't see him take her innocence," one of the workers clarified quickly. "But they were doing…other things." Actually, they hadn't even seen them kissing. The fact that Alan had run off to the kitchen during their particular conversation had just been a strong hint._

_Ed still didn't say anything. "We came here to tell you that for one silver apiece, we will gladly walk the boy home from work today. You know…just in case something _tragic_ should happen to him."_

_"It's a dangerous world out there, boss. He could get mauled by a wolf, or run over by a wagon, or trampled by a horse, or even fall in the lake." The three men grinned meaningfully._

_Ed held up his hand and shook his head. "You've done enough. I'll take care of the boy myself. You'll get a copper apiece added to your wages for the warning." Wordlessly, Ed motioned for his workers to leave and go back to work._

_It was true that Ed had no compassion for Cora as his niece. Or even as his servant. But that didn't change the fact that she was the cheapest labor he would ever have, and there was no way he was losing that to a poor boy. Ed opened up a box which he told people, if asked, contained his deceased mother's jewelry. What it really contained was a potion that he'd been saving for a special occasion for a long, long time._

_In the storage room down the hall, Cora vaguely heard Ed walking past her as she removed her pillow from it's pillowcase and stuffed the pillowcase with her few outfits and wrapped them around all her secret presents from Alan. A little book full of pressed flowers. Two music boxes full of stones, hair ribbons, and other little things. Even a small doll. Her heart was beating wildly with excitement. It was finally happening. She was finally getting away from Ed and the mill and going to be with her true love._

_"Alan, come here for a second," Ed called out as he approached his working men. Alan walked away from the group, who was looking at him behind his back as if he were a meal. "I'm not sure why, but Cora told me to give this to you to drink." He held out the little cup he'd poured the potion into. Alan took the cup eagerly and downed the potion._

_"Why are all of you starring at me?" snapped Alan a second later. "Morons."_

_"Because they know I'm about to tell you you're fired," said Ed. "You don't work here anymore."_

_Alan spat at the ground. "Whatever. I don't need to deal with your boneheaded arrogance anyway."_

_Ed smiled. "Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye to Cora before you leave?"_

_Alan's eyes narrowed. "Cora? Who's Cora?"_

* * *

_He had never showed up._

_Shakily, Cora shut the front door behind her, sat down on the floor inside the doorway, and tucked her knees under her chin and cried._

_"Did you really think you would come?"_

_Cora's head shot up. There was Ed sneering at her in the doorway._

_"Oh, come on now. You didn't really think you could keep a secret from me, did you? I've known about the two of you all along." Ed picked up the packed pillowcase that she had sitting next to her and emptied its contents onto the table. Cora screamed._

_"Did you really think he could love you?" Ed shook his head. "How many times have I told you that servants don't deserve to be loved?"_

_Cora gulped, her eyes glued to the treasures Ed now had in his possession. "But I love him. Why shouldn't he be able to love me back?"_

_"You really think you're the first person to ever let yourself love someone who's never going to care about you? Or who doesn't want you?" Ed shook his head. "No. Sorry to have to break this to you, but love is weakness. It's giving someone the power to break your heart and expecting them not to. And I'll tell you that never in my life have I seen that work out. The fact is, the world would be better off without it. And you of all people, a servant your whole life, should have known never to risk putting your heart on the line."_

_Cora began to cry. Her tears morphed into uncontrollable sobs as Ed went through her bundle and picked out everything of value she had in there. The music boxes, the doll, even most of the stones went in a crate he no doubt planned to take to the market. Everything that he deemed worthless was thrown in the wastebasket. He threw Cora's outfits and the pillowcase down at her feet and walked away._

_Later that night, when Cora brought her outfits up to the room she slept in and put them away, she found dozens of pressed flowers from over the years clinging to the fabric. She cried and screamed as she pulled each one off and crushed it in her fist the way Alan had crushed her heart._

_The one thing from him that she had and decided not to destroy was a figurine of a girl that had somehow slipped into the pocket of her apron. She decided to keep it to remind herself never to love anyone ever again._

_The next few months passed in a blur of tears and pain and sometimes distress to the point of physical sickness. Alan never came back to work again. Cora later heard that his father had sent him to go live with relatives deeper in the country due to insolent behavior._

_"You might have noticed that quite a few of my men have their eye on you, Cora," said Ed one day. "I think it's time you considered choosing a husband."_

_Cora glared and shook her head. "Love is weakness. You told me so yourself." Ed smiled. Exactly what he had wanted to hear._

_One of the men came in and asked Cora for a quick sip of water. She gave it to him. "Lovely day outside, isn't it Cora?"_

_"It's fine," Cora replied coldly, retaining her glare._

_The worker shook his head at her. "Bitter girl," he remarked._

_As the years turned, Cora slowly hardened back into the spiteful, resentful girl that she was before Alan had come into her life. With every season, her discontent grew. She loathed Ed and all his men, but without them she wouldn't have food or a place to live. Occasionally she would try and refuse to work for a few hours, but even if she faked sick Ed would beat her until every inch of her body felt sore._

_"I hate this place!" Cora screamed to herself when she thought nobody could hear her. She looked around at the walls around her and slammed herself into one. She wanted to beat them until they crumbled around her. She wanted the wheel turning outside burnt to a crisp along with the stacks of grain bags waiting to be made into flour and the bags of flour waiting to be shipped out. She wanted Ed and his men to die and burn._

_"Are you okay, miss?"_

_Cora whipped around and saw one of Ed's newer hands standing behind her._

_"No!" she snapped bitterly. "Now go away!"_

_He took a step towards her instead. "I've only been here for a few weeks, and I couldn't help but notice you're just about the unhappiest person I've ever seen in my life." Cora didn't respond. "How old are you, girl?"_

_"Twenty. So you can consider me a spinster."_

_"I'm actually married," said the worker, flashing a ring as evidence. "I just thought you might like to know how you can get away from this place."_

_"I _can't _get away," said Cora. "There's no one who would care enough to help me."_

_"Maybe so," said the man sympathetically. "But I do know where you can find a great and powerful being-a wizard, of sorts-who loves to make deals and can use magic to accomplish anything."_

_Cora raised her eyebrows. "I've never heard of such a man. What is he called?"_

_"Rumpelstiltskin."_

* * *

**A/N: Dammit, did I really just make Cora a sympathetic character? I promise you that was not my intention going in, honest! I totally ship Coralan now…but there's no way they can be together for my story to work.**

**Hope you enjoyed. Please review!**


	7. Regarding Alan Part Two

Regina was in her second trimester now, not so far along that she had to leave all the barn chores to Daniel and the hired hands but far enough along that she wasn't able to ride anymore. Henry was becoming more accepting of his unborn sibling as Regina's morning sickness subsided, although he still refused to listen to anyone who told him it might be a girl. Ruth, Regina, and Daniel all had to deal with Henry asking on a daily basis when James was going to come back, and none of them ever had an answer.

One night, Daniel woke up to the sound of Regina muttering something softly about being good. He opened his eyes and leaned closer to her. He heard her whispering, "Please stop, mother. I'll be good. I promise. Please don't hurt me." Then she screamed.

"Regina, stop!" She screamed again. Daniel sighed and wrapped his arms around her and put his hand over her mouth to keep Henry from hearing his mother scream. The nightmares were happening a few times a month now, which was nothing compared to the every other night they'd been happening in the earliest days of their marriage. And considering how recently she'd seen Cora, it was a miracle that it wasn't worse.

When Regina's eyes opened, Daniel uncovered her mouth and she burst into tears. He sighed and just pulled her closer. He hated seeing her like this, but never said so because it was obviously worse for her.

"Daddy?" Daniel's heart dropped as Henry stepped into the room clutching his stuffed horse. "Why did Mommy scream?"

"She just had a nightmare, Henry."

The little boy rubbed his eyes and went over to the bed. "About what?"

"About…a monster."

Henry climbed up on the bed and crawled as close to his parents as he could. "It's okay, Mommy. Monsters aren't real."

If only he knew.

"Here," Henry put his horse down on his mother's shoulder and patted it. "Mr. Horsey will make you feel better."

Daniel smiled. "Are you sure _you_ don't need Mr. Horse, Henry? Mommy will be okay. She has me."

"I'm sure," Henry insisted. Then he leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek before sliding down from the bed and running over to the door. Once he reached the doorway, he stopped in his tracks and ran back over to the bed.

"I think I do need Mr. Horsey after all." He climbed back up, and instead of grabbing his horse and leaving, he laid down on the narrow empty space on the bed behind Regina. Daniel just smiled. When Regina noticed Henry was in the bed, she scooped him up and put him down between his parents. And that's how they fell asleep. For now, at least, they all had each other.

* * *

At James and Abigail's castle, James had discussed his information about the curse with the blue fairy and together they had called a meeting at the castle to discuss it, notably discluding their fathers for the time being. Reul Ghorm had brought Jiminy Cricket, who advised that giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything. Some of his knights questioned whether the dark one should be trusted at all, but the fairies insisted that the animals in the forest were abuzz with the witch's plan: it was going to happen. They insisted that there was no point in fighting with Cora at this point. "No," said James. "I refuse to believe that. Good can't just _lose_."

"Yes it can," said Abigail sadly, thinking of her lost love.

James turned to her and whispered, "No. If we believe the dark one about the curse, then we must believe her about Daniel and Regina's child. Everything is going to be okay."

Before Abigail could respond, some knights walked in pulling a platform with a tree on it.

"What the hell is this?" asked James.

The blue fairy spoke up. "Our only hope of saving the child."

One of the knights scowled. "A _tree_? Our fate rests on a _tree_?"

"The tree is enchanted," explained the blue fairy. "If fashioned into a vessel, it can ward off any curse." She turned to the royal craftsman. "Geppetto, can you build such a thing?"

"Yes," said Geppetto. "I can do it."

"This will work," said the blue fairy to James and Abigail. "We all must have faith." The couple exchanged a hopeful glance. "There is, however, a catch. The enchantment is indeed powerful, but all power has its limits. And this tree can protect only two."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Mommy."

Regina turned around. Henry was standing right behind her in the barn aisle looking very guilty.

"Sorry for what?"

"I asked Ruth when James is coming back and she started crying."

Regina sighed. "It's okay, Henry. Go find Daddy."

"Okay."

Regina set down the wheelbarrow full of hay she'd been distributing and went inside.

"Ruth?" whispered Regina quietly as she nudged open the door to the house. Ruth didn't respond, but Regina could hear her crying so she went in anyway. The older woman was sitting on a chair by the fireplace hugging her chest. Regina walked over and put her arms around Ruth.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I hope you never know this pain, Regina," Ruth whispered. "Knowing your husband is dead and you may never see your son again…" Regina shuddered a little at the thought. "Sometimes I almost wish I could just forget…"

Regina was startled at the sudden confession coming from the woman who's biggest defense was usually masking her pain.

"One time a woman like you paid my mother for a potion that made her forget she ever knew her lost loved ones," said Regina. "The woman did forget about her husband and child and the pain that losing them had caused her, but she also forgot how to love. She died a bitter lonely old hag. In some ways, our pain makes us who we are."

Ruth smiled. "When did you become so wise?"

"Mama! Ruth!" Henry threw open the door and bolted inside. "Come…look…here…amazing!" He ran back out. Both women had to laugh a little.

"That's overexcited even for him," said Ruth. "Did that horse of yours give birth, maybe?"

"No, I was just with her. I would have noticed she was in…"

Regina's jaw dropped when she saw who was outside talking to her husband and holding her son. When Ruth stepped out after her and saw, she almost fell over.

"Mother!" cried James. He set Henry on the ground, ran over, and pulled Ruth into an embrace. She half-fell into his arms and started to cry again.

"We never thought we would see you again, James," said Regina quietly. Then she walked away and let mother and son have their moment. A blonde woman on horseback was now chatting with Daniel.

"Regina, this is Princess Abigail, James's new wife."

Regina curtseyed. "It's an honor to meet you, your highness."

"Please call me Abigail," said the princess as she dismounted. "We're all friends here."

"Would you like us to see to your horses?" Daniel offered.

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

The next few hours were pleasant. James enjoyed introducing Abigail to the most important people in his life and being back home in general. Abigail and Ruth got to know each other a bit, and Henry insisted on staying in James's lap the whole time, which fortunately he and Abigail both found charming.

"So, James, if you're supposed to be a prince now, where's your crown?" asked Henry.

"Our crown and our royal carriage stayed behind at the palace because we didn't want anyone to know we're here. This is a secret visit."

"You can't go back to the palace," said Henry. "Why would you come back here just to leave again?"

James sighed. "Mother, could you please take Henry out of the house? There's something Abigail and I need to say to Daniel and Regina alone."

"For how long?"

"I'm not sure," said James. "You'll know when it's okay to come back in. We'll talk more before I leave. I promise." Reluctantly, Ruth took Henry outside for a walk. James turned and looked at Abigail. She smiled to tell him it was time.

"We have something important we need to talk to the two of you about," Abigail began. "I suggest you sit down, Daniel." Daniel, who'd been getting a refill of water for himself, sat down next to his wife. Abigail looked to James to continue.

"Our biggest reason for coming here wasn't to visit. There's something we need to tell you. You're not going to like this." Daniel and Regina both looked up at him worriedly, James sighed, hating himself a little for doing this to the young couple. Especially Regina. He knew how scared she was of Cora as well as anyone. "It's about your mother," he finally said. Regina's face turned white.

"What about her?" asked Daniel. "I thought that when you captured the dark one, dark magic would stop."

"And in some part, it has," said James. "But unfortunately, Cora is now the most powerful witch in the realm. She plans to cast a powerful curse that's going to affect all but two of us."

No one spoke for a minute. "Who are the two that will be safe?" asked Daniel. Regina looked as pale as a ghost.

"It depends. The dark one told us before we captured him that the only way to ensure that the curse will be broken is to get your child to safety. Why yours specifically I don't know, but we only have a way for two people to avoid the curse. It's up to you who goes with Henry and who stays."

Regina and Daniel quietly grasped each others hands. "What will happen to us during the curse?" asked Daniel quietly.

"From what I've heard, we'll all be taken to another realm," said James. "The dark one didn't tell me very much about the curse, and the information that Cora herself has released is very vague."

"And Henry and whoever goes with him will also be taken to this other realm, but will not be affected by the curse?" said Daniel.

"From what I understand, yes," said James.

Daniel turned to his wife, who hadn't said a word and looked more numb than anything. "Regina, you have to go with him." Regina shook her head. "I mean it."

"I can't raise two children alone in an unknown realm," Regina whispered tearfully. "I need you."

Daniel grasped both of Regina's shoulders. "We'll have to be separated anyway, and if you _don't_ go, Cora will have power over you."

"And if I do go, Cora has power over _you_."

James and Abigail glanced at each other. "You'll have some time to think about this decision," Abigail assured the couple. "The wardrobe won't be ready for another few months."

"But definitely before the curse is cast," James added quickly and uncertainly.

Neither Daniel nor Regina said anything.

"Thank you for the warning, James," Daniel finally said. James and Abigail took this as their cue to say goodbye and leave.

Ruth got to spend a little more time with her son and daughter-in-law before they returned to the palace. Inside, Daniel and Regina, both slightly dizzy with shock, tried to carry on as normal for the rest of the day. Even Henry, who was mostly sulking over the fact that James was leaving again, asked his parents several times, "What's _wrong_?" For now they just told him they were sad because they missed James, but Henry seemed to sense that they were worried too. It took them longer than usual to get him to fall asleep that night.

When James and Abigail arrived back home, King George was waiting to have dinner with them. He kept giving James dirty looks during the meal, as if he knew where they'd been. Abigail helped by going on and on about how they were visiting a hospital near the city and how careful she'd been to stay away from the sickest children in case she happened to get pregnant, and how much a particular little boy adored James and climbed into his lap and asked about his crown. King George mostly asked questions about the dreaded plans for James and Abigail to start a family. They were planning on waiting for their one-year anniversary to start trying, because they would be more prepared by then, they said, "But you never know," Abigail assured George with a mysterious glint in her eye.

Later that night, James and Abigail were getting undressed for bed.

"You know you can't possibly be pregnant already, right?" James teased.

"Oh really?" Abigail retorted dryly.

"Yeah, you know…when a bird and a bee love each other very much…"

Abigail smacked James playfully with a pillow. "You know we have every reason not to want to risk starting a family yet. Our baby would probably be cursed before it was even born."

"I absolutely agree," James reassured her. Even though he knew the real reason that she didn't want to do anything that could possibly result in a pregnancy was that she was still in love with Fredrick.

"I feel horrible about what we did to Daniel and Regina."

"We did the right thing," James insisted. "It's awful, but they need to know."

"But did they really need to know _now_?"

James didn't answer. He just rolled over and pretended to sleep.

His choices in life had been so much easier when he was a farm boy.

* * *

_Four months later_

Unlike Regina, Cora had easily been able to use magic to locate Alan. But all power has its limits. The device she used was an enchanted paper globe Rumpelstiltskin had given her and it had told her what kingdom Alan was in and nothing more. It had taken her a month to even reach the kingdom and the rest of the time to go through every village, every neighborhood, every corner, looking for the only person who she had ever loved.

She thought she had put him out of her heart and mind by the time she finally went to Rumpelstiltskin for help at the age of twenty, before he arranged her marriage to Lord Henry and her mind became consumed with her responsibilities as the lord's wife and the dark one's apprentice. But now, thinking about seeing Alan again, Cora couldn't help but turn over the basic questions in her mind that she'd pushed away for over thirty years now. Why had he run away? Had he just not loved her enough? Had Ed threatened him? Or had he been scared to bring her home to his parents, maybe?

And at this point, was he even alive? And if he was, would Cora even be able to recognize him?

And most importantly of all…would she be able to bring herself to do it? To cut the heart out of the one person who she apparently still cared about more than she knew?

"Excuse me, miss?" Cora looked down and saw an old beggar woman. "Are you the one who's been looking all over the kingdom for some guy named Alan?"

"Yes, I am," said Cora. "He should be in his early sixties by now. Solid build. Brown eyes."

"You're in luck! I think I saw a guy like that working over by the hillside. Age you described and strong as they come!"

Cora nodded curtly and walked away, headed for the hillside, and froze as soon as she saw the man pointing at the rock with a hatchet with a burning resentment in his eyes like he was beating at the body of a beast. This was him. This was Alan.

Cora just watched him for a minute. Every line of his face was burned into her memory from before. She knew his build, his eyes, even his now greying dark hair. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the man she was looking for, but the look in his eyes would have twisted her heart if she hadn't left it hidden in a box in Rumpelstiltskin's empty mansion.

"Alan?" Cora finally whispered, walking slowly over to him. Alan's head shot up and whipped around to face her. Her skin felt numb just seeing him look at her.

"What do _you _want?" Alan sneered.

"Alan, it's me," whispered Cora shakily. "Cora. Don't you recognize me?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't know any Cora."

"Yes you do!" she insisted. "Alan please! Just talk to me for a…"

"Leave me alone!" yelled Alan. "I don't know you, okay? Can't an old man get some work done around here?"

Cora's breath slowed. "You really aren't going to acknowledge that you know me?"

"You're freaking me out, lady! I have no idea who you are!" Alan picked his pick axe back up and began pounding the rock again.

Cora squeezed her eyes shut tight to avoid letting the tears spill down her face.

"Hey, I know her!" said another man working nearby. He set down his axe and marched over to Cora and Alan. "You're that evil witch who took over from the dark one."

"I didn't take over anything from the dark one," Cora insisted.

"But you have something to do with him?" Alan set down the axe and gave Cora a hateful look that burned through her soul.

"I loved you, Alan," Cora whispered before she could stop herself. "I still do."

"What is she talking about?" asked the other man.

"I swear, I have no idea what she's talking about!" shouted Alan. "I've never seen this woman before in my life!" He turned back to Cora. "But I have heard about you. I know you're that evil witch that rips out people's hearts and enslaves them wherever she goes and crushes them to dust when they tick her off. And I know that there is _no way_ that anyone-not even a grumpy old jackhole like me-could ever love you. People like you don't deserve love!"

It was a fraction of a second after that statement left his lips before Cora's knife went into his chest. It carved out the heart in less than a minute. Then Cora put the heart in her box and left faster than anyone could possibly catch her. Not that anyone dared approach her now, anyway.

Alan was gone. And Cora's last shred of humanity had died with him.


	8. Hell Hath No Fury

Cora didn't waste one second in getting herself back to King George's kingdom. Turning herself into an animal to travel faster was out of the question because she needed to be able to travel with the heart, so she disguised herself as an old woman and ordered a carriage.

She settled down in the carriage holding the box with Alan's heart in it tightly. Her chest felt heavy with a feeling she couldn't quite place. Hopefully it was relief. This was a good thing. If the one person she'd ever truly loved was gone, didn't that mean she had nothing to lose but herself? Love was weakness. She'd learned that a long time ago. The two times in her life that she had been most vulnerable were right after Alan left and when she killed him. This was all a reminder of why she'd never let herself love Regina, or care for Henry. She'd grown a little attached to Regina over the years, to be sure. But never to the point of actually loving her.

"Excuse me? How many days should it take to get to King George's kingdom?"

"Seven days, miss. Eight at the most."

Eight days and power over everyone and everything in this kingdom would be hers.

Cora let herself smile as she ran her fingers over the box. The box that represented pure power and invincibility for her. She was now on the road to true happiness.

* * *

Meanwhile, Daniel whistled as he rounded the corner of the barn, slightly startled to see Regina sitting next to her favorite horse's stall on a rickety stool.

"Are you sure you should be out of bed, Regina?"

"It's okay," she assured him. "The midwife says it should be another ten days or so before the baby comes. Eight at the least."

"Good," said Daniel. "I was about to give Firefly a training lesson. Want to come watch?"

"Okay."

Daniel stopped to hold his wife for just a moment and kiss her on the forehead before getting the five-month-old colt out of his mother's stall and brought him outside. Regina sat down in a chair nearby and forced a smile. He noticed she was pale. She was almost always frightened these days. The nightmares were happening so often now that Daniel had finally to explain to Henry that a horrible monster came after mommy when she was a little girl and she was afraid of it coming back. This caused the child some stress, but he was usually okay because his parents could convince him they would be able to protect him better than Regina's parents had. The worst part is that they weren't sure they were telling him the truth.

"Easy, Firefly," said Daniel softly as he rubbed the currycomb gently along the horse's side and then more firmly to better clean his coat and massage his belly. Concentrating on his work with the horses during the day was when kept him sane as each day brought his family closer to the curse. Perhaps it helped Regina somewhat as well. On the days that she was too tired to go out to barn herself he discussed each horse's progress with her at the end of the day. It was much easier talking about plans for teaching Firefly how to take a metal bit in his mouth and Starlight how to go over a three foot jump than any plans they had for themselves and their children.

Daniel feared for Regina being functionally a single mother in this new realm, and he wasn't sure how he himself would survive without her. But even more sickening was that he would never get to see Henry learn how to ride a course of jumps, or start school, or become a man. And this new baby who's gender he might not even know for twenty-eight years. He and Regina had agreed on Noah after his father if it was a boy, but they were still trying to decide on a girl name, either Gail after Daniel's mother or Helena after Regina's father's mother. But it felt awful to know that he might never be able to contribute anything to his baby's upbringing except for a name.

Daniel had never been a man who made a habit out of hating people. But Cora was the exception that proved the rule.

* * *

Meanwhile, James entered his castle and found Abigail waiting for him in the hall.

"Did you speak to the royal craftsman?"

"He says it should only take about six more days to finish the wardrobe. Eight at the most." He heard the rattling of wheels behind him and looked up. "Whose carriage is that?"

"It belongs to King White," said Abigail. "Let us quickly put on some decent clothes and prepare to receive him."

But when they came back downstairs dressed to greet his royal highness, the person who was waiting for them was a gorgeous brunette woman about Abigail's age that James didn't recognize. "How do you do, Princess White?" said Abigail warmly as she curtseyed.

"Very well, thank you. And call me Snow. My father and dear stepmother apologize for the fact that they weren't able to make this journey themselves, but they haven't been feeling well."

"That's quite alright. I don't believe you've met my husband, James."

"Lovely to meet you, Princess." He bowed and kissed her hand on the customary fashion, taking just a moment to look up into her eyes as he did so.

James cleared his throat and turned to one of his maids. "Can you please see if Princess Snow would like something to…"

"I heard something about a curse," Snow interjected. James and Abigail both stopped what they were doing and looked at her. "It's true, isn't it?" Neither of them said anything. "How could you keep something like this a secret?"

"We don't know when the curse is going to happen," James explained.

"And even if we did, there's nothing anyone can really do to prepare for it," said Abigail. "We figured it would be best to avoid all the panic."

Snow frowned. "But surely other kings and queen must know? Why is it that your father hasn't told my father?"

"We haven't told anyone," James admitted. "How did you find out?"

"Through the animals in the forest," Snow snapped. "Did you really think you were the only one who could tell what they're thinking without using magic?"

"Oh, _great_," said James. "Does this mean that everyone knows now?"

"What, that we have less than ten days to go before the curse is cast?" Snow smiled a little as James's jaw dropped in horror and Abigail's eyes widened. "Ha! Didn't know that now, did you?"

"What we do know is that there is nothing we can do to stop the witch from casting her curse," snapped James. "That's why we don't want to do anything that could cause a panic."

Snow shook her head. "There has got to be some way. All curses can be broken."

"That shows what you know about curses," James retorted. "Broken isn't the same thing as_ prevented_. The woman casting it is an evil witch who rips out the hearts of everyone who upsets her and apparently has the dark one's support. She can't be stopped."

"It's true, I'm afraid."

Snow turned around and was quite startled to see the elderly man who had just entered the palace. "Lord Henry, what are you doing here?"

"I heard the rumors about the curse and had to tell you everything I know about the woman who is casting it." Interested, Snow turned around to face Lord Henry. "Everything this man has said is true."

"How did you know her?" asked Snow.

"She was my wife," Henry confessed. "We were married twenty-five years. She became a witch while she was pregnant with our only child, and she threatened the child to get me to do terrible things. Some times, I was even forced to charge your father's people extra taxes and pocket the money to protect my daughter. I left Cora after our daughter ran away with our stable boy. I never looked for my daughter because I was afraid of what Cora would do to them if they were found."

"Wait a second," said James. "You're Regina's father!"

"How do you know my daughter?" asked Henry.

"I know where she lives," said James. "I can get one of my knights to take you to see her. You should get to spend some time with her and Daniel and Henry before the curse."

"Henry? Did she name my grandson after me?"

"_Regina_," whispered Snow. "Where have I heard that name?" Before anyone could answer, the memory of the young horsewoman suddenly came back, and Snow's mouth fell open with shock. "She saved my life when I was a little girl!"

"And then she saved it again by refusing to marry your father," Henry assured the princess. "Because if she had, Cora would have found some way to call the shots. She would have killed you and your father and kept Regina under her thumb so that there would be no one preventing her from running the kingdom as she saw fit."

Snow brought a hand up to her mouth.

"The Dark One assured us that if we can get Daniel and Regina's child to safety, the curse will be broken in twenty-eight years, and we'll be frozen in time until then," said Abigail, wondering if she was sharing too much information with the princess.

"And you're all positive that there is no way to stop it from happening," said Snow, shifting her serious gaze from Abigail, to James, to Henry.

"Absolutely," said Henry sadly.

"Then I will return to my father's kingdom at once," Snow promised. "No one outside the palace will hear about this until the curse is happening. Thank you for your time."

* * *

Henry spent a few hours riding with the knight to the village where his daughter was now living. Neither of them spoke a word during that time. Henry was torn between the feeling that he was about to see Regina again when he'd never thought he would and the terror of knowing Cora was about to enact a curse that could affect all of them. He had so many things to think about, and at the same time it was too much to think straight and concentrate on his riding at the same time.

"This is as far as I dare go," said the knight about a mile from the village. "This road will take you to the village. Daniel and Regina's property is almost right next to the center of town."

Henry nodded. "Thank you, sir." He nudged the horse into a brisk trot.

The minute he set eyes on the property half a mile from the general store and the village inn, he knew he was looking at the right place. Three apple trees grew right next to a cabin built for a small family. Nearby, a mare and foal frolicked in the pasture. Several horses' heads hung out the windows of the barn. Henry recognized the two of them Daniel and Regina had taken when they ran away.

As he drew closer, he saw Daniel carrying a small boy on his shoulders with pitch black hair like Regina's. "Where's Mama?" he asked.

"She's inside taking a nap."

"When's the new baby gonna be born?"

"I don't know," said Daniel. "Do you want to help me groom the mares?"

"Okay!"

Henry smiled. Then he suddenly hit him that all of this, this perfect life his daughter had created for herself, was about to disappear.

"Daddy, who's that man?"

Henry and Daniel were equally startled when the saw that little Henry was pointing at his grandfather. Daniel slowly set Henry down.

"I want you to go wake your mother."

"Okay."

Little Henry scampered off as his grandfather rode his horse over to Daniel at a walk and then dismounted. Henry wondered why his son-in-law wasn't doing or saying anything, and then he realized the younger man was probably expecting him to be angry. Henry held out his hand to shake.

"Thank you," he said. "For rescuing my daughter from that prison."

Daniel relaxed and shook his father-in-law's hand.

"I'm surprised it took you so long to find us."

"After I left Cora, I quickly realized she always had a way of locating me if she needed to ask about something," said Henry. Daniel nodded, understanding. Henry hadn't wanted his ex-wife using him to find his daughter. "But of course it doesn't matter much now, with the curse only mere days away."

Daniel's face turned pale. Days. So it really was going to happen as soon as he'd thought. "Well, I'm glad you'll get to spend that time with your family."

"Daddy?"

Henry's face lit up when he heard his daughter's voice coming from the doorway.

"Regina."

Little Henry watched as this older man pulled his mother into a tight embrace, tears of joy shining in their eyes. They laughed and pulled apart when his unborn sibling started kicking the man.

"Who are you?" asked Henry.

"This is my father," said Regina. "Your grandfather."

Henry's eyes widened. "Grown-ups have _parents_?" Daniel and Regina laughed.

"I have an idea," said Daniel. "You and your grandfather and I will go let all the horses out into their pastures for the day, and we'll take the rest of the day off. We can have a picnic."

Henry's eyes lit up. Regina just looked at her husband in surprise.

"Don't some of the youngsters still need a training session?"

"They'll be alright for a few days," Daniel insisted. "Your father has found us, we have a baby on the way…we should celebrate."

"Okay," Regina agreed. The real reason Daniel didn't want to work anymore was not lost on her. But she didn't say so. She just put a smile on her face and enjoyed every moment she could with the three most important men in her life to the best of her capability, trying not to let her mind wonder how many hours it would be before this was all gone.

* * *

_Eight days later_

"Daniel! Daniel, wake up!"

Daniel peeled his eyes open mumbling something about how the horses didn't need to be fed because they were out in the pasture with extra hay just in case and he'd filled their troughs last night. Then he realized the mattress he was laying on was soaked.

"The baby," said Regina. "It's coming!"

Daniel got up, dressed himself in a flash, and ran straight to the place Ruth was staying at. Then he and both Henrys went outside to the empty barn to wait while she took care of the younger woman.

Somewhere else in the kingdom, the rattling of carriage wheels disturbed a sleeping village. A witch in disguise stepped out, asked her coachman to wait, and left to go start herself a fire.

In the palace, James and Abigail loaded the finished wardrobe onto the back of a cart and thanked Geppetto profusely. Then they started on their way to Daniel and Regina's village.

Outside Daniel and Regina's cabin, little Henry sat down in his father's lap and looked up at his grandfather seriously. "So if I have the same name as you, does that mean my new baby brother also has to be named Henry?"

Henry sr. glanced at Daniel. "Of course not," said Daniel. "Two Henry's are plenty. If the baby is a boy we're planning on naming him after my father. But try not to be too disappointed if it's a girl, okay?"

Henry shook his head. "I told you, it has to be a boy. I wouldn't know what to do with a girl."

Ruth stepped outside. "How long can you put off the birth?" asked Daniel.

"I can't," said Ruth worriedly. "Her water is broken. This baby is coming within two hours. I need your help keeping her comfortable."

Daniel got up. "Henry, stay with your grandpa."

Henry looked slightly sad as his father went inside and shut the door behind him. Then he turned back to his grandfather.

"Mama always told me I had a grandpa named Henry, but she never told me you were her father, too."

Henry smiled. "That's what a grandpa is. I'm your grandpa _because_ I'm your mother's father."

"Oh. Does this mean Mama has a mother, too?"

"No, she didn't. She had a monster."

* * *

"_Locks from those with the darkest souls, the strength of something you hold too close_."

Into the fire went the leftover locks of hair Cora had saved and the heart. Her face lit up with triumph as a column of thick purple smoke began spiraling up into the bright blue sky and stretching out across the forest. Then she left in the carriage to go see Regina one last time before the curse.

* * *

Both Henrys were standing right by the front door when they heard the new baby's first cries. Nervously, Henry senior grasped Henry junior's small hand and waited. He listened to Daniel, Ruth, and Regina's soft voices as they quieted the baby. After a few minutes, Ruth opened the door.

"How'smybabybrother?" flew out of little Henry's mouth in a rush.

Ruth shot Lord Henry a concerned smile. "The baby is fine, but…" Before she could say anything else, the almost-five-year-old boy bolted inside.

"I think her name is Helena," Daniel whispered as he held the new baby close, wrapped in a pink blanket Ruth had made them herself. His shining eyes met his wife's as she looked up at him, utterly exhausted and laying all the way back on her pillow, her face lit up with a look of pure joy for the first time in weeks. Then he looked back down at the brand new little girl in his arms with her tiny fingers in fists and her little eyes looking up at him contentedly.

"We did it again," whispered Regina as Henry walked cautiously through the doorway. She squeezed her husband's free hand. Being reminded that true love could create such precious lives gave her a sliver of hope that someway, somehow, they would all be okay.

"That's a girl, isn't it?" asked Henry when he saw the pink blanket.

"Yes," said Daniel. He braced for Henry's disappointment.

"Hi, baby sister," whispered Henry. He walked over to his father and grinned the second he saw the baby's face. She looked back up at him and just blinked.

"Her name is Helena," said Regina.

"Hi, Helena," said Henry. He then looked up and held out his arms for the baby. His parents exchanged a smile. Daniel set Helena in Regina's arms instead, and Henry snuggled up against her side. Daniel sat down next to them and held his wife's hand.

And then they heard the explosion.

* * *

"James!" shrieked Abigail as the purple smoke began swallowing up the forest next to them.

"We've got no time to lose!" shouted James. "Faster!" He cracked his whip just enough to scare the horses into bursting into a gallop. Fortunately the wardrobe was chained onto the platform, so they were able to travel fast the rest of the way to Daniel and Regina's village. Unfortunately, in the distance they were able to see a speck of another carriage headed straight for their destination. And there was only one other person who'd be trying to get there, or out at all right now. James cracked his whip again. "Faster!"

* * *

At Daniel and Regina's farm, everyone was huddled around her on the bed with Ruth and Lord Henry on the opposite side of Regina from Daniel and little Henry, who'd run out and grabbed Mr. Horse and was clutching him while starring at his new sister.

"You have to be the one to go with Henry now," Regina insisted. Daniel looked startled. "I'm not leaving my new baby to face my mother without me."

"And I'm not leaving _you_ to face her without me," replied Daniel. "You go with Henry, I'll take care of our little girl."

"What are you talking about?" asked Henry.

Regina smiled sadly and patted the little boy's cheek. "A monster named Cora is going to cast a curse that only you can break. Until you do, nobody will be able to do anything, or go home, or…" Then much to the little boy's discomfort, she burst into tears. She couldn't believe she was having to explain all that to someone so young.

Lord Henry felt his stomach twist when he looked up and saw the carriage coming up the path. It's occupant was in disguise, but he'd recognize her anywhere.

"I'm sorry, Regina," said Lord Henry. "I failed you as a father."

Regina forced a smile. "It's okay, Daddy. How can I be angry with one of the people I love the very most?"

Henry smiled back at his daughter. Then he covered Ruth's mouth to keep her from screaming when the front door was kicked open. They heard a muffled voice calling for them.

"No one. Make. A sound," whispered Daniel.

* * *

Just moments earlier, James and Abigail had managed to pull their exhausted horses to a stop outside Daniel and Regina's cabin. They dragged the wardrobe inside and shoved it as far back into the house as they could.

"Hello!" yelled Abigail. "Is anyone home?"

"Let's look in the stables!" said James. He and his wife stepped out the front door only to find themselves starring the evil witch straight in the face. It was a split second before the royal couple were laying on the ground knocked out with sleeping powder.

* * *

"Cora's definitely here," whispered Regina, shaking with terror as she held her children close.

Before anyone had the chance to respond, the whole cabin began to shake. Daniel wordlessly grabbed a basket of apples Regina kept under the bed and dumped almost all of them out onto the floor. Then he took the baby from Regina's arms and put her in the basket, nestled in the apples and swaddled in her blanket. For good measure, he grabbed Henry's soft stuffed horse and tucked it under the baby's head and upper back.

"What are you doing?" asked Regina. But nobody heard her because of how loudly the wind was whipping around them. Daniel lifted Henry off the bed, set him down on the floor, and looked his son in the eyes.

"Listen to me, Henry!" Daniel urged. "I need you to take your sister and go find somewhere to hide! I'll take care of the monster!"

"Okay," whispered Henry fearfully. He followed Henry to the door to the room and walked out holding the handle. Regina looked at Daniel like he had lost his mind. Daniel gestured to Ruth and Henry to stay with his wife, but the older man shook his head and got up.

"I'll handle Cora. You stay with Regina."

Daniel hesitated, then stepped out of his father-in-law's way. Then he sat down next to Regina, who Ruth was trying to comfort, and scooped her up and held her against his chest. He kissed his wife's cheek and patted her back and wished with everything he had that he could wake her up from this nightmare.

* * *

Henry sat crouched in the corner behind a wicker chair, clutching the handle of the basket his baby sister was in for dear life. This seemed like a good hiding spot, but then again, whenever he played hide-and-seek with Daddy and hid here Daddy found him right away, so maybe it wasn't a good hiding spot. Through the wicker, Henry could just see his grandfather standing in the front doorway. He saw a woman face him.

"We meet again, Henry," she said cruelly. "I should have known you'd be here."

"_Get away from my daughter_," said Grandpa more angrily than Henry had ever heard him. The scary woman snapped her fingers, and grandpa was lying on the floor breathing heavily.

That must be the monster!

Henry's eyes darted around the room looking for somewhere he and his sister would be safe. The oven was too hot, the icebox was too cold. Maybe under the table? Or maybe that was too easy because it didn't have a door so if she noticed him she could just reach down and grab him.

But what did have a door was that new thing near the back of the house that looked like a piece of tree.

"It's okay, Helena," whispered Henry as soon as the witch had shuffled off to his parents' bedroom. "I found somewhere to hide."

* * *

Cora had to smile at how pathetic her daughter and son-in-law looked huddling together on the bed. And how little sleeping powder it had taken to knock out the old woman who'd been trying to block the door.

"Why have you done this?" asked Daniel.

Cora's lips curled into an even bigger grin. "Because this is _my_ happy ending."

"_What?"_

"Where are those grandchildren of mine, anyway?"

Cora shuffled out of the room. Both Daniel and Regina got up and followed her.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" chirped Cora as she peaked under the table.

"They're not here," Regina whispered.

"It's okay! Don't be shy!"

"No, Mother," said Regina. "I mean, they're really not here."

Before Daniel could ask what she was talking about, Regina walked over to the wardrobe, bent down, and picked up something off the floor. A single button from Henry's little vest. She opened the wardrobe and revealed that no one was inside.

"The enchanted tree," muttered Daniel. He walked over to Regina. His fingers trembled as he turned the button over in his hand. "Our children are gone."

"Don't worry," said Cora. "In a few minutes you won't be able to remember that you _knew_ them, let alone _had_ them."

Daniel turned and gave Cora the most hateful look he'd ever given anyone. "What did we ever do to you? What did your _daughter_ ever do to make you want to give her a life where she would always have to be afraid? What right do you think you have to separate her from _everyone_ she ever loved?"

Cora's smile faded. "You still don't understand, do you stable boy?" She walked over to Daniel. "Love is weakness." Her fingers reached forward, slid into his chest, and gripped his heart. Regina's eyes widened with shock.

"MOTHER!"

Cora looked into the now frightened eyes of the man who had stolen her daughter away from her, and from everything she had ever been meant to do. He wasn't looking back at her. He was looking at Regina. Cora watched him mouth something, maybe that he loved her, maybe an apology. It didn't matter. In a few minutes, Regina would forget that Daniel had ever existed anyway. So now was the best time to do this.

As the roof above them began to crack, Regina watched as her mother withdrew her hand from Daniel's chest with his fragile heart in her palm.

Or try to, anyway.

"No," said Daniel after the third time he felt Cora yank desperately at his most vital organ. "It's strength." Cora let out a hideous scream as her son-in-law shoved her so hard she thunked against the wall on the other side of the room.

Daniel caught Regina in his arms just in time for the walls to cave in and for everything that was left of their lives to be swallowed up by purple smoke. She looked up at him and smiled proudly, and he smiled back at her. For the first time ever, Regina knew that good was not powerless against Cora.


	9. A Realm Called Earth

**A/N: I apologize to anyone who's disappointed that Emma doesn't exist yet. And I'm still not sure if she's going to appear in this story at all. But I hope I'm at least still doing the premise justice at this point. Especially since parts of the character's backstories no longer match up with canon. I'll admit I'm kind of glad I had to do my own backstory for Cora though. Finding out that-SPOILER ALERT-she ripped her own heart out and became an evil witch because some kid tripped her when we already know Regina became evil because her fiance was murdered in front of her, Cora forced her into a loveless marriage with a man older than her father, and Rumpelstiltskin taught her that dark magic was her only outlet was like when we found out that second dimension Doofenschmirtz took over the tri state area because he lost a toy train.**

**Anyway, I thought I'd share what actors I'd imagine playing my OC's if this story were canon:**

**Young Henry-Asa Butterfield**

**Grown up Henry-Misha Collins**

**Helena-Lea Michele**

When Cora opened her eyes, she was standing upright and facing a vast purple smog. This clearly wasn't the new realm she was supposed to be headed for. But this wasn't The Enchanted Forest, either.

"Hello?" she called. "Regina? Henry? Other idiots?"

"They can't hear you, dearie!"

"Rumpelstitskin?"

A transparent image of The Dark One floated towards Cora. "Is that you?" she asked. "Are you dead?"

"Of course not," said Rumpelstiltskin. "None of us are dead. I'm just here to help you get started. Follow me!" The dark one took Cora's head and pulled her straightforward at an alarming rate through the smog. When he pulled her to a stop, they were facing a thick crowd of transparent souls. Cora recognized her daughter and The Stable Boy immediately. They were standing together and holding each other.

"Regina!" yelled Cora. No one answered her.

"They can't hear you," said Rumpelstiltskin. "You need to decide where you want them after the curse."

"I want him dead," said Cora.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," said Rumpelstitskin. "From this point on: no one ages, no one dies, no one is born or conceived, and no one suffers any serious injury or recovers from any serious injury they have suffered. And if you want anyone to fall in love or out of love, you have to decide that now."

"I want her to forget he ever existed."

"Then make that happen," said Rumpelstiltskin. "You are looking at the population of only this village right now. For the next thirty-five and a half hours, this entire kingdom is at your disposal. Even the animals if you care what happens to them."

"I care that Regina is separated from all those horses."

"Like I said, in terms of who remembers who else, it's all up to you," said Rumpelstiltskin. "However, there is one thing I'd like you to take care of right now."

"Right," said Cora when she realized what he must be talking about.

After the dark one and his servant girl were in the places he'd wanted them, Cora decided where she wanted Daniel and Regina and then moved on to the royal family. She separated all of the royals and nobles in her kingdom from their spouses and true loves, particularly the male ones. You never know when that might come in handy.

Thirty-four hours were now left for her to comb through the rest of the kingdom and decide who would be of use to her. Thirty-four hours and all of this would belong to her.

* * *

Henry let out a scream as the outside of the tree burst open and suddenly, he realized he wasn't in the same tree anymore. Helena's cries followed. Henry checked to make sure his baby sister was unharmed and Mr. Horse was still in the basket with her and sighed with relief when he saw they were okay.

"Mama? Daddy?" called Henry. He knelt and wriggled closer to the opening. "Ruth? Grandpa? Anyone?"

The small boy recoiled in fear as a strange sound pierced the surrounding silence. It sounded like a giant spinning wheel spinning _really_ fast up in the air, but he didn't see anyone or anything.

"It's okay, Helena," said Henry. "I'll find Mama and Daddy. I'll get us back to the farm. I promise."

Henry wondered if babies were supposed to be so wrinkly as he stroked his tiny sister's soft head. The little hair she had was blonde, and her eyes were a very dull grey. She didn't look _anything_ like Henry or their parents. Maybe Mama had given birth to the wrong baby somehow. Oh well. Didn't matter now. Helena was his sister, and Henry had to get her back to the farm in time for supper.

"Let's go," said Henry once the strange noise has passed. He cautiously picked up the basket and set it on the ground, almost tumbling out after it because he had to lean to lower it down. Then he climbed out after it.

"These aren't the woods around the village," said Henry worriedly. "I don't know where we are."

Henry took a few tentative steps forward in the direction of the faint sound of music playing. Then he glanced around and not seeing any other option, continued. It didn't take long for him to reach the source of the music. It was a small painted building with colorful twinkly balls of fire hanging off of part of the outside trim. Once he was close enough to look through the window, Henry could see music was coming out of a large red box and some device with buttons on it was turning blobs of dough into biscuits like an oven.

"What kind of an enchanted cottage is this?" Henry wondered aloud. Helena just cooed in response.

A few minutes later, Henry saw a young looking man and woman exit the building together. They looked much younger than his parents, maybe even younger than James, and they were wearing very strange clothes and talking about how righteous and tubular something was.

"Excuse me?" he asked. Both turned. "What's that?" Henry pointed at the building.

"It's a diner," said the guy.

"A what?"

"You go there to get food," explained the girl. "Why are you carrying that baby in a basket?"

"This is my sister," Henry explained. "I need to get her home by dinnertime. Do you know how to get to King George's Kingdom?"

The guy and girl just glanced at each other and laughed. Henry scowled.

"I mean it!" he yelled. "My sister and I climbed into a tree, and it took us here, and now we're lost, and we need to get back to our farm now or Mama will get worried!"

"Do you really live on a farm?" asked the girl. "That is so…um…radical."

"Yes I do," said Henry. "Now can you tell us how to get back to King George's Kingdom? Please?"

The guy laughed. "There are no kingdoms around here, kid."

Henry gulped. "We're not in the enchanted forest anymore, are we? What realm is this?"

The guy and girl both laughed some more. Henry felt a tear roll down his cheek and wiped it away.

"This _realm_ is _earth_, kid. Just plain old _earth_."

* * *

Henry sighed impatiently under the perplexed stares of two men with shiny badges.

"Did you just ask us to take you to the enchanted forest through a magic portal and help your grandpa fight an evil witch?"

"Exactly," said Henry. "I need to get my baby sister home by dinnertime."

"How old are you, kid?"

"Four and three quarters."

"And how old is the baby?"

Henry shrugged. "She was born sometime today."

"Okay, let me see that."

Henry held out the basket for the men to look at and screamed when he reached down and scooped out Helena.

"It's okay, kid. I'm not going to hurt your little sister. Does she have a name?"

"Helena. And my name's Henry.

"What's your last name?"

"Huh? I'm not a prince. I only have one name."

The officers glanced at each other again. One of them nodded. "I would definitely say our day just got interesting. Okay, Henry. I'm Officer Hart and this is Officer Hudson, and we're going to help you guys find your parents."

Henry smiled a little. "How are we gonna get there? Do you have a carriage?"

"Oh, we got something better than a carriage. Come on." Officer Hart held out his hand for Henry, who took it and followed the men along but not before snatching Mr. Horse out of the basket.

"What _is_ that?" asked Henry when the men brought him to a long flat blue-and-white carriage. "How do you hook up the horses?"

Officer Hudson laughed. Henry didn't understand what made everyone on earth want to laugh at him, but he didn't like it.

* * *

Officer Brenda Lee was the only female police officer who worked at the particular station she was at, and it being 1983, she had to prove herself on a daily basis. So she didn't mind taking on the tough cases. Over the last two years, she'd spoken with retirees trying to justify their possession of fifty or more cats, children who thought it was a good thing that their parents teaching them how to sell drugs, and men who'd been caught in bed with prostitutes insisting that "it's not what it looks like". At this point, she doubted that anything could really surprise her. Little did she know that a boy named Henry was about to prove her wrong.

"And then Daddy told me to go find somewhere to hide."

"And that's how you ended up at the diner?" questioned Officer Lee.

"Yup," said Henry. He kicked impatiently at the desk she was sitting behind. "A magical wardrobe dropped us off there."

"Ah…right. Was this "magical wardrobe" a car by any chance? And your parents wanted you to get out and go hide somewhere?"

"Nope. My parents didn't want the evil witch to cast a curse on me."

"Mhmm. Does this evil witch have a name?"

"Nope," said Henry. "Where's my baby sister?"

"She's just at the hospital getting checked up," Officer Lee assured him.

"What's a hospital?"

The woman's eyes grew sympathetic. "Do you really _not_ know what a hospital is?" Henry shook his head. "It's a place where sick people go to get better. But it's also a place where babies are supposed to be born."

"Helena was born at home," Henry responded. "Our neighbor Ruth delivered her while I waited in the stables with Daddy and Grandpa."

Officer Lee made a note of that. When someone knocked on the door she called them in. It was Officer Hart.

"As far as we can tell, there are no married couples by the names of Daniel and Regina in the area, and none in the state who work at a stable or have a four-year-old son named Henry."

"Henry, are you sure you were telling the truth about your parents' names?" asked Officer Lee. The boy nodded diligently. She sighed. "I think it's time we call social services to pick him up."

"I'll get right on it," said Officer Hart. "The little girl got lucky, by the way. Perfectly healthy, not even a bruise from bouncing around in that basket full of apples, and she's definitely only a few hours old."

"That god," muttered Officer Lee.

Henry just sighed and leaned back in a chair hugging Mr. Horse to his chest as Officer Lee did something with papers on her desk. He closed his eyes and wished over and over that he could go back to his farm where everything was familiar and crawl back into bed with his parents.

* * *

Henry was reunited with his sister the following evening. She was set up in a crib in the kitchen at Mr. and Mrs. Roskin's house, where he'd been taken to stay after Officer Lee had finished talking to him.

"Can I hold her?" he asked.

"Fine," said Mrs. Roskin. "But I expect her to be back in the crib where she belongs by bedtime." Henry sat down in the living room armchair while the woman placed his little sister in his arms still wrapped up in the blanket that came with her. Helena looked up at him with her innocent gaze.

"Mrs. Roskin?" asked Henry. "When are the officers going to find my parents?"

"Shut up, kid," she snapped. "You've asked me that twenty-six times, do I look like I have the answer?" Henry shook his head. Then she walked away to yell at some of the other kids for chatting too loudly. Besides him there were six kids there, three girls and three boys, and Henry was the youngest and smallest. Henry stroked Helena's cheeks with the back of his hand and started humming a lullaby while tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Hey crybaby, shut up!" snapped the oldest boy as he stormed past.

Henry sniffled and tried to blink back his tears. "Hush a bye, don't you cry, go to sleep little baby. When you wake, you shall have, all the pretty little ponies. Blacks and bays, dapples and greys…"

Henry stayed there singing his little sister until bedtime, when the oldest girl came over and helped him put her back in the crib. Meanwhile, somewhere in Maine, a new town was coming into creation and the mayor was resting peacefully in her queen sized bed.


	10. There Is No Magic In This World

**A/N: I'd like to apologize for a mistake I made in the last chapter, I accidentally put in the year as 1983 when it should have been 1977 because in this universe, the curse happened six years before it was supposed to.**

"Henry! Are you done brushing your teeth yet?"

"Almost, Mr. Roskin!"

The nearly seven-year-old boy stared blankly at the bathroom mirror while he rolled down the sleeves of his scratchy over-sized pajamas, as if that might make them more comfortable. He leaned close to his reflection and reminded himself of where parts of it came from. His mother's thick dark hair and light skin. His father's eyes. He wasn't sure whose nose anymore. His parents were rapidly fading away, and it scared him. He tried to remember what his mother's apple pie tasted like and how his father sounded when he talked about his horses. Or even the smell of a stable block or the weight of a grooming brush in his hand. None of the other kids or grownups here believed him when he told them he could ride a horse. Or about anything else he talked about from his life with his parents.

"I want everyone in bed in thirty minutes!" barked Mr. Roskin. "Lights out by eight fifteen or no breakfast in the morning!" Then he left to check all the locks. Henry exited the bathroom and walked down the hall to say goodnight to his sister, who still slept in the crib next to the kitchen and had to stay in there most of the time. Over time, her hair had turned brown like their father's, and she now had their mother's face and beautiful brown eyes.

"Henwy?" said Helena as she stood up in her crib and reached out for him. "Bedtime stowy?"

"Sure," said Henry. "Just lie down." The little girl complied and rested her head on the pillow. Henry smiled and tucked her in as he began.

"Once upon a time, there was a magical place called the Enchanted Forest. In the Enchanted Forest, there was a farm, and on that farm lived a boy named Henry, his parents Daniel and Regina, and at least half a dozen beautiful horses."

* * *

Mayor Mills proudly strode through the streets of Storybrooke, her omnipresent smile possessing just enough sweet vindictiveness to intimidate everyone within a twenty-foot radius of her. Sheriff Graham, who Cora guessed used to be some sort of royal huntsman, was being served a cup of coffee by a slim young waitress at a nearby diner while the owner of the diner, Granny, was bickering with Mr. Gold about the rent. A sweet young woman hummed to herself as she made her way up the steps and almost bumped into a young man exiting the diner with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Oh!" the young woman gasped. "I'm so sorry, David."

"No, no, it's fine," said David quickly. He glanced off to the side and blushed. "I…um…I like your new scarf, Mary Margret."

The young schoolteacher's face lit up. "Thank you so much!" She practically squealed on the way in the door, and the two parted ways. David hopped into the neighborhood animal rescue van and drove off. Across the street, Kathryn Evans was opening up her salon, Moe French was arranging a bouquet of flowers, and Marco was repairing a broken sign. Down the street, Dr. Hopper was cheerfully opening up his clinic, and Mrs. Gold was opening up the library.

Cora strode past Michael and Billy repairing a broken pickup truck and the town drunk frightening a group of children on their way to school. She enjoyed this little walk she took every morning from her house to city hall. Mostly because seeing people step out of her path on the sidewalk was the closest thing to seeing them all bow down to her. All she'd ever wanted was to hear them call her Your Majesty, but she supposed Mayor Mills would have to do for now.

At the hospital, the one place Cora made a habit of stopping on her way to work, a middle-aged nurse named Edith Nolan was comforting a sick child. When she saw Cora enter the building, she walked over and immediately asked if she could do anything for her. Cora said no and went downstairs to the psychiatric ward.

"Good morning, Mayor Mills," said the nurse at the front desk.

"Has anyone been to see him?"

"No. Not today. Not ever."

Just to see for herself, Cora walked down and looked into the window of his padded cell anyway. Curled up in a corner all alone, the stable boy looked back at her with confused broken eyes, his skin pale even against the rough fabric of his white robe.

* * *

Officer Lee hated giving up on investigations. Really, she did. It always made her feel like she was letting someone down, especially when that someone was a child. But it was hard not to recognize that she needed to give up when, after two and a half years, the people she was looking for had shown no sign of existing. She had tried _everything_. She hadn't been able to find anyone whose DNA matched Henry and Helena's. Or who matched the descriptions Henry had given her. Or who was named Regina and had given birth to two children that were missing. Whatever the explanation was probably made Henry's magical wardrobe theory look plausible.

It was time to admit that Officer Lee had dragged out the investigation far longer than she should have and gotten absolutely no result. Whoever Henry and Helena's natural parents were weren't coming for them, and it was time to give them a chance to find a new home.

* * *

Soon after, the seven-year-old and the two-and-a-half-year-old were told they were soon to be leaving the Roskin house and moving in with a new family. Henry's heart skipped a beat. "Are you taking us home to our parents?"

The social worker smiled sadly. "I'm afraid not, honey. We haven't been able to find them. But you guys might be getting a new mommy and daddy, who won't ever go anywhere or leave you."

"No, thanks," said Henry. "I don't want a new family. I want my old one back."

That just made the social worker look even sadder. "Tell you what. You and your sister need to live somewhere, right? Just think of this as another place to stay for now."

"Fine," Henry reluctantly agreed. "But I'm not gonna like it."

Three days later, their new foster parents came to pick them up. Henry and Helena were ready in their cleanest clothes and with a plastic garbage bag full of their scant personal belongings in tow. Mr. Roskin greeted them at the door in the friendly voice normally only used with social workers while Mrs. Roskin stood back holding Henry and Helena's hands so tightly they thought they were about to pop off.

"These must be the children!" A well-to-do lady and gentleman rounded the corner. They were so cheerful and nice that Henry had to smile. The lady shook his hand warmly and told him her name was Ella Swenson. "And this is my husband, Ross." Ross smiled and leaned down to also shake the children's hands.

"You have strong hands like my Daddy," Henry remarked. "Are you a horseman?"

Ross smiled for a second so big his eyes crinkled. "Nope. I work in an office. Boring, huh?" Henry just shrugged, because he didn't want to be rude, but that kind of did sound boring.

Ella knelt down so that she was eye level with Henry. "Why don't we all go home and get settled in, and then later maybe we can go out for ice cream?"

Helena grinned. "Eyes Keem!"

Henry shrugged again. "Sounds alright." Then he sharply yanked his hand out of Mrs. Roskin's grasp and headed for the front door. Helena followed suit. Ella shook Mrs. Roskin's hand and told her "thank you for everything". Henry wondered for a split second what Mrs. Roskin had done for Ella before he and Helena were loaded into the backseat of a minivan.

"How many kids live at your house?" asked Henry.

"Just the two of you," Ella assured him.

"So we don't have to share a room with _anyone_?"

"You'll share with each other, for now," said Ross. "But next week we're planning on adding a new room to the side of the house. Do you guys each want to have your own bedroom?"

Henry and Helena's eyes widened and they turned to glance at each other as if looking for confirmation that this was really happening.

At Ella and Ross's house, there was an already decent-sized bedroom waiting for the children with a toddler bed and a twin bed and a toy chest full of as many toys as the entire Roskin house had put together. After the children unpacked the little that they had, Ross and Ella took them out for ice cream and then to the store to pick out blankets and sheets for their beds. Helena wanted all things Sesame Street, and Henry wanted all things cowboy. They both got everything they'd asked for, and Henry even got a new cowboy backpack for school to replace the hand-me-down one with holes in it the Roskins had given him.

At the end of the day, even Henry couldn't help but wonder if he might start to like it here soon after all.

* * *

_Two weeks later_

"And then just as the grandpa was about to save the day, the evil witch flung him to the ground with her magic powder and cackled the most evil cackle you've ever heard!" Henry imitated the cackle for dramatic affect as Helena half-shrieked and shrank under the covers. "The farm boy had no time to lose, he had to get his sister out of there. He looked around the room…and what did he see…but a _magical wardrobe_."

"Henry, wrap it up," said Ella as she shut the little girl's bedroom window. "It's time for you to go to bed."

"As soon as the witch flew over into another room, the farm boy picked up the basket his little sister was in and got in the magical wardrobe. He closed the door behind them, and at last, they were safe."

Helena clapped her little hands. "Goodnight Henwy."

"Night night." Henry whispered, kissing his little sister on the forehead before exiting the room with Ella.

"Henry, can I ask you something?" asked Ella.

"Sure."

"Why do you tell your sister the same bedtime story every single night?"

"It's not really a story," said Henry. "It actually happened."

Ella smoothed the boy's hair back with a strange look on her face. "Is that what your mommy and daddy told you to say when they left you at that diner?"

Henry scowled and shook his head. "_No._ They didn't know where I was going to come through, and I'm not a liar."

"I'm sure you're not a liar, Henry," said Ella. "But sometimes people exaggerate the truth a little to make it more interesting. Like when I say we're going to make a _ton_ of cookies."

Henry giggled. "Or like when Ross says that it's raining cats and dogs outside."

"Exactly."

"But I'm not exaggerating the truth about my parents," said Henry seriously. "I know there's no magic in this world so you don't believe me, but I really did travel here in a wardrobe, we really did come from the enchanted forest, and there really was an evil witch in my house. Even if nobody _ever_ believes me, you can't tell me that I didn't see what I saw."

That made Ella look worried for some reason.

"It's okay," Henry assured her. "The witch isn't going to come after us here. There's no magic in this world."

"Of course not," said Ella almost sadly. "Why don't you run along to bed?" She gave him a quick hug goodnight and then left to go talk to her husband about something.

* * *

"Ross, why are we going to the doctor today?" whined Henry. "I'm not sick. My teacher said we were gonna build a robot this afternoon!"

"I'll take you over to school by lunchtime," promised Ross. "And I know you aren't sick. This isn't a regular doctor. He's…a feelings doctor."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll see once we go in."

Ross and Henry weren't in the waiting room very long before Dr. Seymour came out to greet them. They were then escorted into a doctor's office with nothing but a desk and some toys. Dr. Seymour talked to Henry and asked him about his parents, then let him play for a little while. Then he sent Henry out to the waiting room so that he could talk to Ross. Henry started for the waiting room, then realized nobody had told him how long he was supposed to stay there. He turned and headed back to the office, which was already cracked shut.

"I honestly don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with the boy, Mr. Swenson," said Dr. Seymour. "Considering what he's been through, it's not surprising that he may have some issues grasping the difference between fantasy and reality. Especially since he is only seven. Think about it. Most kids his age still believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy."

"But that's because there's an adult telling them they exist. And even little kids know they've never actually _seen_ Santa's sleigh up in the air flying. Henry thinks he actually went through the experience of teleporting somewhere via a magical wardrobe to get away from an evil witch. That's crazy!"

"We don't really use the term 'crazy' here. Whatever did happen to Henry, this fairy tale he's been telling himself and his sister is his way of expressing it. Think of it as his language. If you'd taken in a child who spoke Spanish, you wouldn't tell him there was something wrong with him, would you? You would learn enough of it to teach him how to speak English. That's what you need to do with Henry and his stories. In the meantime, I recommend you bring him back here weekly."

"What if this doesn't work? What if the kid is schizophrenic or something? My wife has always said she wanted to adopt if we couldn't become real parents, but if he turns out to be some nut job I don't care what she thinks. We're sending him back."

"As I said before, I highly doubt that's the case. As for his little sister, I suggest you slowly start encouraging him to tell her that bedtime story less and less. Hearing it over and over probably won't distort her view of the world, especially not at age two, but it will give her a sense of false hope for years to come if it doesn't stop."

By the time Ross came out to take Henry over to school, the boy was silently sitting huddled in a plastic cushioned chair. He refused to talk to anyone for the rest of the day.

That night, he told Helena a new bedtime story. One about a boy who has to turn himself into a statue to avoid getting eaten by a dragon.


	11. The Long Lonely Road

**A/N: trigger warning for allusion to various types of child abuse.**

At the ages of five and ten, Henry and Helena once again found themselves standing alone in an unfamiliar house with everything they owned in a plastic garbage bag. As their new foster mother rattled off some instructions about what chores they would have to do and what rooms they were allowed to go into, Henry just stared at the floor. "Yes, Mrs. Claymore," he said mechanically at the end of the lecture.

"Now go unpack your things. The bedrooms are down the hall, boys' room on the left and girls' room on the right, and it should be obvious which beds are empty."

Henry wordlessly took his sister's hand and went with her to the girls' room.

"Henry," she whispered tearfully. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course you didn't," said Henry. If anyone had done anything wrong, it had probably been him. Even though he had stopped talking about the magical wardrobe after that one visit to the feelings doctor. He had started telling people he didn't really remember his biological parents, and they believed him.

"Then why don't Mommy and Daddy want us anymore?"

"Don't. Call them that." Henry couldn't even look at his little sister as he piled her belongings on the plain white bedspread.

"But why don't they…"

"Because Ella has twin buns in the oven, that's why!" snapped Henry just loud enough to make a nearby four-year-old girl whimper.

"What does that even _mean_?" asked Helena.

"I don't know! Probably that they're having new babies to replace us!" Helena's big brown eyes filled with tears as Henry pulled the huge plastic bag shut. "Hey, it's okay." Henry leaned over and pulled his sister into a hug. "You've still got me."

"But we don't have parents anymore! Who's gonna walk me to kindergarten and cut the crusts off my sandwiches?"

"I will," Henry insisted. "Everything's gonna be okay. Now put away your things."

Helena blinked. "How?"

Henry shrugged and pointed to the narrow three door dresser at the foot of the bed. "You figure it out." Then he left for the boys' room dragging the trash bag down the hall behind him. The boys' room had a similar setup to the one the girls' room had, five single beds lined up down a long room with small dressers at the foot of the beds. Henry began unpacking his things into the dresser at the end of the one bed with nothing on it.

"Hey, new kid!"

Henry looked up and saw a boy slightly older than him with red hair and angry blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Don't you know that the newest kid here always has to sleep next to the vent?" He pointed to a bed at the end of the row.

"Mrs. Claymore told me to go to the bed with nothing on it."

"Yeah, well, now I'm telling you we're trading beds." The taller boy picked up the one drawer Henry had put things into and dumped it out on the floor, then immediately began moving his own belongings over to that bureau. Grudgingly, Henry waited until the older boy moved his things and then put his own things away in the bureau next to the vent

"Have fun listening to the noise all night, you little jerk," said the older boy triumphantly. "Anyways just so you know, you should use the bathroom before we go to dinner. The bedroom doors are locked at seven, and if one of us is outside of it without permission we get locked in the laundry room overnight." The older boy stomped out of the room, leaving Henry to wrap his ten-year-old mind around this new life and the fact that after three years, he'd gone from being part of a family to having the whole world against him again.

* * *

_Three years and four foster homes later_

The middle-aged male social worker sitting across from Henry at the table looked him dead in the eye. The thirteen-and-a-half-year-old boy's hands gripped the table, his eyes tracing the floral pattern of the table cloth.

"He started it," Henry finally said.

"It doesn't matter who started it," said the social worker. "All that I can see-and all that Mr. and Mrs. Malone can see-is that Evan kid with a broken jaw and you without a scratch."

"Evan is as big as a house!" Henry protested. "He could have defended himself if he _wanted_ to."

"He's one year younger than you."

"But he's taller than me, and he's _huge_!"

The social worker leaned in closer. "Just remember this, Henry. It has taken me a great deal of effort to keep you and your sister together thus far. This is it. When I get the call from the Malones saying your time with them is up, your next stop is the boys' home. If I were you, I would try to put that off as long as possible. Have I made myself clear?"

Henry gulped. "Yes, sir."

A minute later, Henry exited the room. His sister was waiting in the hallway huddled in a chair. She got up as soon as she saw him.

"I'm sorry, Henry," she whispered.

"It's not your fault. Grown-ups are just morons."

She half smiled. "Will you help me with my homework?"

"Sure." They headed off to the living room to do their homework together at the kitchen table. Out of the eight kids in that home, Henry was the oldest and Helena was the youngest and smallest. She would have been an easy target if it wasn't for the fact that Henry would do anything to protect her and everyone knew it. This had been more necessary in some homes than others. In one place, Henry had even gotten punished for "boundary issues" because he'd routinely scolded Helena for going out into the street or near it. But how was he supposed to believe that anyone else was going to care enough to make sure she was safe?

"Don't you hate it when the teacher asks you to write an essay about family or something?" complained Helena. "I'm supposed to write about the best day I ever spent with my parents."

"Wish I could help you there," said Henry sympathetically. "Like I've told you, the one day you spent with our real parents kind of sucked."

Helena smiled. "Because that was the day the evil witch came to destroy our home…"

"…and we hid from her in a magical wardrobe." The story that Henry still occasionally told his sister in full and she wished she could still fully believe.

Henry suddenly tensed when he saw Evan entering the room. "Stay here." He got up and marched as inconspicuously as possible over to the younger taller boy.

"You want to fight again, punk?" Evan smirked.

"No," said Henry as calmly as he could. "All I want you to know is…you lay a hand on her again, you're _dead_. I mean it. You're lucky I caught you before anything else happened."

Evan just smiled coolly. The fact that he didn't even have the decency to look angry just made it harder for Henry not to punch him again. "You sure you're doing the right thing threatening me? Maybe she would have liked it."

"_She's. Nine_."

"So? I was three." Evan turned and walked away. Henry didn't go after him.

"Are you sure you shouldn't tell Mrs. Malone what he did?" asked Helena softly when he came back over to her. "Maybe she would have punished him herself."

"No she wouldn't," said Henry. "Nobody cares about us. Besides, I don't think he'll bother you again. There are plenty of girls here who don't have big brothers."

Helena half-smiled and let Henry sling his arm around her shoulders and help her finish her essay, torn between the feeling of relief that she would always be safe as long as Henry had anything to say about it and feeling a tad bit selfish for it.

* * *

_Four years later_

Just six weeks until his eighteenth birthday. Six more months of high school after that. And then he would be out of the system for good. Not that it was that bad here. The boys' home was a comfortable place to live and all, and he was never denied basic necessities. But none of the boys here were looked after the way children in stable homes with good parents were. It gave them an empty feeling that if asked, they all would have denied.

Henry had been sent to live here when he hit fifteen and was finally deemed too old to be around the kids at the Malones' home. At first it had been kind of a relief to not to feel responsible for Helena 24/7 for the first time since the day she was born, then he'd hated himself for feeling the relief and tried to call and visit with her as much as possible. Evan had long since been sent somewhere else, but Henry had worried plenty about her wellbeing apart from him anyway. Things had gotten slightly better when Helena transitioned to the girls' home at the age of twelve. She was as well cared for there as he was at the boys' home, which was the best he felt they could hope for at this point.

"_The curtains are on fire! The curtains are on fire!"_

Henry leapt up from his seat at the sound of his roommate's panicked voice. He let out a sigh when he saw that there was actually nothing wrong with the curtains or anything else in the room.

"Don't do that, jerk," snapped Henry.

"_No! I mean it! The monster is going to blow us away!"_ Henry's roommate leapt under the bed and started screaming. Henry rolled his eyes and left to go get an adult. Then he had to stay out of his room for the next few hours while his roommate was being taken to the hospital and his belongings were being searched.

Two days later, Henry was told that the young man had been arrested for drug possession and he was getting a new roommate. "That's cool," said Henry dryly. He'd been hoping to have the room to himself for a little while, but surely any roommate was better than a neurotic LSD addict.

"Your new roommate is a little younger than you are, but I'm putting him specifically with you because I know you tend to be on the milder side, Henry," the adult in charge informed him. He'd figured out over the years that the grown-ups in this home tended to use 'mild' to describe the boys who were least likely to break the rules, get into violent arguments with others, and/or destroy their and other's belongings in a fit of rage. No place else would anyone describe Henry as mild. At school, his male classmates were more likely to describe him as moody or weird, and the girls were more likely to describe him as mysterious and sexy. Henry had never had a solid group of buddies at school or any of his homes, but he'd certainly spent more than one study hall period in the janitor's closet making out with more than one chick.

"The boy was found wandering around by the side of the road a few hours ago," the adult continued. "He hasn't spoken to anyone yet, and no one knows who his parents are or why he was alone. Just keep in mind that he might need some space to settle in."

"Yes, sir."

The boy showed up at their room soon after. As they'd said, he was obviously several years younger than Henry. His skin was tan and his hair and eyes pitch dark.

"Um…hi. I'm Henry."

The boy just blinked and sat down on his naked bed. After a minute, Henry shrugged and got back to finishing his homework.

"Baelfire."

Henry's head shot up, slightly startled that the boy had spoken.

"Excuse me?"

"My name's Baelfire."


	12. The Lost Boy

**A/N: sorry it's been so long since the last update! Just to warn you, I might be taking another brief (few weeks) fanfiction hiatus to focus on schoolwork. So hope you enjoy this update! I'll have lots more time in the summer!**

_Baelfire. What kind of a name was that?_ Henry wondered.

"Do you know where I can find a magic portal around here?"

Henry stood up and accidentally dropped his pencil to the floor. "What did you just say?"

"I asked if there are any magic portals around here," said Baelfire. "That lead anywhere besides the Enchanted Forest. Wonderland, maybe? Or Neverland? That's where I just came from."

"You came here through a magic portal?" asked Henry in disbelief.

"_Yes_," said Baelfire. "Do you not believe me?"

"_I _do believe you," Henry insisted. "But if you say that to anyone else here, they're going to think you're crazy. Literally. I came here through a magic portal when I was four and everyone laughed at me when I tried to explain it to them. If you tell them the same thing now, it'll be a one-way ticket to the nuthouse."

Baelfire suddenly looked a little dizzy. "What's a nuthouse?"

"A place where crazy people are locked up," Henry explained.

"Why would they think I'm crazy?"

"Because this realm has no magic in it. No one here has seen it, so they think it doesn't exist."

"So there are no magic portals?" Baelfire questioned.

"I'm afraid not," said Henry.

The younger boy hunched over and turned away as if he'd just been hit with something. Henry suddenly felt bad. Maybe this was too information all at once.

"So, do you have a nickname?" asked Henry.

"My Papa used to call me Bae," said Baelfire softly. "But I don't like him anymore."

Henry winced sympathetically.

"You should probably think about calling yourself something different here. No one in this realm would take a name like Baelfire seriously, no offense."

Baelfire frowned. "Are there any names here that are close to mine that I could call myself?"

"Um…nothing that ends with 'fire'," said Henry. "How about Neal?"

"Neal," said the younger boy, testing the new name out on his lips. "Neal. It's okay. I'll take it."

"Good," said Henry. "Just so you know, at some point the social workers and cops are going to expect you to tell them about your family. Because I was so young when I came here, I can usually get away with pretending that I don't really remember anything. You won't be able to do that."

"I could just tell them that my mother died when I was a kid and my father abandoned me at the side of the road."

"That works," said Henry. He hesitated. "You came up with that pretty fast. Is that what actually happened?"

"More or less," Neal admitted. Then he just sat back on the bed and folded his arms over his chest, making it clear that he didn't want to talk anymore right now.

A little while later, Henry finished his homework and put the books away in his bag. "So…um…I'm going out to the living area to play some games. Wanna come?"

"I guess." Neal got up from the bed and followed Henry to the large common area and ducked behind a houseplant as soon as they walked in the room. Henry turned and glanced questioningly at the younger boy.

"I thought you said there was no magic in this world," snapped Neal. "What's with the enchanted boxes?"

Henry grinned. "Those aren't made from the kind of magic you know. They're called TVs. Come on."

Neal cautiously followed Henry to a ragged couch in front of a small TV that wasn't being used. Henry turned on the TV and then plugged another box into it and grabbed two strange looking devices with buttons on them.

"That yellow circle you see on the screen is named PacMan," explained Henry. "The goal is to have him eat the cherries and the dots and stay away from the ghosts."

It took Neal a full twenty minutes of insisting that he just watch Henry play to get his head around the idea that the buttons on the little handheld thing were controlling what the circle on the screen was doing. Then he asked to play, and Henry set the game back to level one. Neal practiced a few levels on his own before they switched to multiplayer mode.

"Now, don't get too discouraged if you don't win any rounds this time," said Henry. "I've been playing this game for years."

Five minutes later, Neal won the first level. Henry smirked. "Beginner's luck."

Then Neal proceeded to beat Henry on level two, level three, and level four. He could tell from the frustrated look on the older boy's face that he wasn't letting him win on purpose. After Neal won the fifth level, Henry sighed and tossed the game controller onto the couch.

"You…you little…"

Neal shrugged and flashed Henry a deliberate smug smile. "Sure. _Beginner's luck._"

* * *

The following Monday, Neal was sent to school for the first time. Henry insisted on showing him around quickly before the first bell rang.

"What's an academic record?" asked Neal. "Whatever it is, the adults keep telling me they wish I had one."

"It's not that important," said Henry. "Well, it will be now that you're starting high school. But the fact that you don't have anything for the years up until now just means you won't be able to skip any entry-level classes." Neal shot him a blank look. "Basically, you'll start off taking English one, regular biology, regular American history, and Algebra one. Unless they decide to start you off in intensive math just in case you haven't learned the basics. And you'll probably also have to take health class or art class or something, plus study hall."

"I really don't see the point of all this," said Neal. "Going to a crowded building every day just to have random facts thrown at us by adults sounds kind of creepy. In Neverland, we usually had a way to hide from them."

"Hide from them?" asked Neal.

"The pirates were always trying to kill us."

"It's not _quite_ that bad here," Henry admitted. "They don't try to kill you, but none of the ones I've met have been particularly nice either. The ones at school are usually the nicest, even though they treat us like we're stupid."

"What kinds of things do they expect us to do?" asked Neal.

"Learn what they're trying to teach you," said Henry. "If everyone else starts writing down whatever the teacher is saying, you need to do it, too. And then later you have to memorize the notes, because every few weeks they give you a test to make sure you learned everything."

Neal scowled. "Why do you take this stuff so seriously?"

"Because at the end of all this, you get a diploma that says you can get a much better job than you would have been able to otherwise. "

"So? Just become a thief and then you won't need a good job."

Henry laughed. "Yeah, right." Then he grew serious for a second. "Actually, I'm mostly doing this because I promised my little sister that as soon as she's old enough to sign herself out of foster care she can come live with me. I can't take care of her if I can't afford a decent apartment."

Neal nodded, momentarily feeling an odd level of respect for the older boy. Even though he still thought becoming a thief made more sense.

"Plus," said Henry smugly. "There's the ladies to consider." The bell rang, and Henry walked down the hall away from Neal and immediately slung his arm around a slim red-headed girl in a tight-fitting outfit, leaving the freshman to suffer through homeroom on his own.

* * *

At lunchtime, Neal was quiet. Two adults who noticed he was sitting at an empty table stopped to ask if anything was wrong, but the truth was he just wanted to be left alone. The fast-paced nature of this realm still overwhelmed him, and plus, he didn't know anyone at this school well enough to sit with them. Heck, he didn't really know anyone at this school at all except for Henry, and he seemed like he didn't want to be bothered at the moment. He was sitting at a table surrounded by a cluster of ditzy-looking females who kept touching his arms and shoulders and never took their eyes off of him. Neal couldn't seem to quit starring at the scene himself. Later, Henry told him he'd noticed that and jokingly asked if Neal was living vicariously.

"Nah, it's just strange being in a building with so many _girls_, you know?" Neal remarked. Henry gave him a strange look. "Neverland didn't seem to have any of those, either. Not any human ones anyway."

"Ah."

"So, if I see a girl I think might want to spend time with, how do I tell her?" asked Neal.

"Easy," said Henry. "The first thing you should do is go up to her, introduce yourself, and give her a compliment. Preferably about either her eyes or her smile. Then ask her for her phone number and call her after a couple of days and compliment her on how good she's looked lately. Girls love that. After a couple of weeks of flattery, you should be clear to ask her to meet you in the janitor's closet or an empty locker room during study hall. Don't _ever_ ask her to go out on a 'date' with you unless you're prepared to be tied down. Trust me. I learned that the hard way."

Neal nodded seriously. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Neal became better adjusted to life on Earth. Other than no known magic portals and having to lie about who he was, he wasn't finding the experience of being in a land without magic all that bad. That had been where he wanted to go in the first place, hadn't it? And after all this time…surely there was no chance of his father finding him here.

"I don't know," said Neal. "I think the one thing I'm never going to get used to here is how fast the mechanical carriages are."

Henry grinned. "Just wait until you try _driving_ one. Until you have, you do not know the true meaning of pleasure."

Neal laughed as he tried to picture himself behind the wheel, steering the big metal thing with wheels down the road at breakneck speed.

"I'm going to the kitchen to see if they have any pizza left over," said Neal. "You want to come?"

"Nah," said Henry. "I've got some stuff to do. Want me to show you a new video game later?"

"Sure," said Neal.

Neal made it to the end of the hall before he suddenly realized he'd forgotten where the kitchen was located. The boys always ate in the dining room, so he'd only seen it one time in passing. Taking a random guess, Neal shoved open a door. There was only one person in the room, a girl about his age sitting on a velvet couch. She stood up quickly, then looked curiously at Neal with sparkly brown eyes when she realized he obviously wasn't who she was expecting.

"I'm sorry," said Neal. "I was just looking for the kitchen."

The girl smiled apologetically and came over to him. "I don't know where it is. I'm just here waiting to visit with my brother."

"That's okay," said Neal. He smiled confidently. "I'm Neal. What's your name?"

"Helena."

"Helena," Neal repeated softly. "You have a beautiful smile."

* * *

At the end of his visit with Helena, Henry stepped out of the visiting room and started walking over to the living room. On the way he passed the office and stopped to ask one of the adults for permission to stay late after school the following day. But the person crouched at the desk wasn't one of the adults. All of the drawers were open, and Neal was rummaging through one of them. Henry saw him pull a small roll of ten dollar bills out of a drawer and stuff it in his pocket with a triumphant grin on his face. Henry frowned and walked away.

* * *

A week later, at school, Henry was walking down the hallway with a brunette girl practically hanging off his shoulder and discreetly snaking her hand up his shirt.

"So…what's it like being the strong silent type?" she asked.

The question caught Henry off guard. "Um...what?" He didn't really think of himself that way, but if that was the way some girls saw him, he guessed that explained why they were willing to fool around with such a loner. The smartest girls-especially the ones who were juniors or seniors-generally refused to get within ten feet of Henry if they could help it. And he couldn't really blame them.

As he scanned the hallways for faculty members that might accuse them of PDA, Henry happened to notice Neal coming out of the computer lab with his backpack bulging. The freshman quickly opened his locker, glanced around quickly, and immediately started shoving speakers and calculators into the locker. Henry stopped in his tracks as his jaw hit the floor. He almost pulled away from the girl to confront Neal right then and there, but just then a teacher walked out of a classroom and Neal shut the locker door just in time. Henry sucked in a deep breath. "I'll see you after class," he quickly mumbled to the girl as he ducked into his next classroom.

* * *

After school, Henry found Neal chilling in front of the TV in the living room.

"What are you watching?" asked Henry. "I thought there wasn't going to be anything good on today."

"This is actually pretty interesting," said Neal. "It's a movie about these two friends who are criminals and go everywhere together stealing things and hiding from the cops."

Henry turned and gave him a strange look. Neal smiled back equally strangely.

"Maybe that's what you and I should do, Henry," said Neal. "Run away, steal a car, spend our lives driving from town to town robbing places." Henry sighed. "How about it? I'll be Butch, you can be Sundance."

"Neal, we need to talk."

The younger boy looked slightly disappointed as Henry dropped down on the couch beside him and lowered his voice. "I know you've been stealing. I saw you take that money from the drawer, and I saw you sneaking equipment out of the computer lab."

Neal grinned. "Did you also see me pickpocketing from the teacher's lounge?"

"Um…no. Listen, don't take this the wrong way, but you have _got_ to stop this."

"Why?" asked Neal.

"Because you can't just take things from people. Someone worked hard for and earned everything you've taken from them."

"I worked hard for it, too," snapped Neal. "Sneaking around is almost impossible here. There are grown-ups _everywhere_."

Henry wasn't sure what to say to that. Obviously, whatever happened in Neverland had robbed the younger boy of any moral scruples he might have had against theft.

"Besides," said Neal. "I don't owe these people anything, anyway. Everyone I've met here besides you has just wanted to put me in a box and tell me what to do. Don't you ever feel like you need a backup plan in case you can't take it anymore?"

"Look, I get it," said Henry, leaning over and momentarily grasping the younger boy's shoulder. "_No one_ trusts the adults in this realm less than I do. But the way to beat the system isn't to do the exact opposite of what everyone is telling you you're supposed to do. Just go to school like I do, try to do reasonably well, and in the end you'll come out ahead. You with me?"

Neal didn't react for about a minute. Then his eyes narrowed.

"You're no better than the rest of them," he spat out. Then he ran from the living room and hid in one of the bathrooms until bedtime.

* * *

The following day, Neal refused to get out of bed and go to school, claiming he wasn't feeling well. The adults didn't push the issue, and neither did Henry. But when Henry got home from school, Neal was gone along with his meager belongings and everything he had stolen. Henry was briefly questioned, but unfortunately he had no idea where the boy might have gone.

"Is it okay if I go visit my little sister now?"

"Sure. Just remember to be home by eight."

Henry left right away and took the bus to the girls' home. When he knocked on the door, the woman in charge greeted him.

"You're in luck," she said. "Your sister is already in the visiting room."

"Really?" asked Henry. "Who's visiting her?"

"Your cousin William, of course. He just got here a few minutes ago."

Huh? "Thanks, Mrs. G." Henry marched down the hall as fast as he could without running until he reached the doorway to the visiting room. He opened it quietly. There was Neal, sitting in a plastic chair across from Henry's thirteen-year-old sister lightly planting a kiss on her lips.

* * *

Neal jerked away from Helena so fast he almost slammed back in his chair. Out of nowhere, Henry was standing in the doorway looking at him like he was about to break him in half.

"_Neal…_" seethed Henry angrily.

Neal gulped. "Henry, what are you doing here?"

"What the hell are you doing with _my sister_?"

"Whoa. I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"What's going on?" asked Helena.

"This guy is a _thief_," snapped Henry. "He stole money from the boys' home, and from the school, and from the teachers. And that was probably _before _he decided to run away."

Helena glanced at Neal with a troubled frown. "Is that true?"

Neal looked to the ground. He didn't even get a chance to respond to her before Henry marched over and grabbed him by the shirt.

"Listen to me, mister _Butch-Cassidy-lost-boy-from-Neverland_," sneered Henry. "First of all, nobody gets to fool around with my thirteen-year-old sister. Period. Second of all, if I _were_ comfortable with her dating anyone, it sure as hell wouldn't be you."

"I never did anything to hurt her, Henry," said Neal softly. "I swear."

"And you're not going to," said Henry. "Because you're either going to come back to the boys' home with me and straighten yourself out, or you're going to walk out that door, disappear, and _leave my family alone._ Which is it gonna be?"

For a moment, Neal did nothing. Then Henry got a glimpse of his panicked face before he grabbed his backpack and tore out of the building.

"He really didn't do anything bad to me, Henry," snapped Helena. "We met in passing when I came to visit you a few weeks ago, he asked for my phone number, and then he called to talk and say how nice I looked when I saw him."

_Mental note_, Henry thought. _If someone ever asks me for advice on how to pick up girls again, remember to tell them which one is my sister and that she's off limits if they want to live._

"And then he asked me out on a date."

Henry raised his eyebrows. "He picked me up after school and took me out for ice cream. Then he came back here with me for a few minutes and we told Mrs. G he was my cousin visiting from Boston and she believed us. He's been back here four times since counting today, and he's brought me flowers every time."

Henry's face softened slightly. "Did you guys, ever, um, you know, make out or anything?"

Helena shook her head. "You just saw our first kiss," she said sadly.

Henry already regretted having judged Neal as harshly as he had. The boy wasn't that much older than Helena, and while _dating _her was still clearly unacceptable, he couldn't be any more to blame than her. And he clearly still needed help. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" asked Henry. Helena shook her head. "If he ever comes to see you again, tell him I'm sorry I reacted like that. I assumed he was more like…never mind." Helena bit her lip and nodded solemnly. Henry sighed. "Well, in my defense, the part about him stealing money from all those places was true. I saw him do it."

"Well, I didn't know _that_," Helena admitted. "That's probably what he used to buy flowers for me, too." She closed her eyes tightly as if she were afraid she was about to cry.

"Come here," said Henry. He pulled his sister into a tight hug. "Everything's gonna be alright." He wasn't sure he was doing a particularly good job of consoling her. There were few things he knew less about than how to mend a thirteen-year-old girl's broken heart.

"What was that you said to him, by the way?" asked Helena. "About Butch Cassidy and the Lost Boys?"

"I called him that because he was a thief," said Henry truthfully.

"Figures," said Helena. "You've always been fond of fantasy metaphors." After another few seconds, she stepped back from her brother and looked him in the eye seriously. "When am I going to get to hear the real story about our parents, Henry?" Her big brother's face twisted uncomfortably and he starred very hard at an empty bookcase. "I mean it. I'm not a baby anymore. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

"Someday," said Henry firmly.

"Why not now?"

"Let's just say that right now, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."


	13. Found

_Massachusetts, 2005_

A tired middle-aged man, quite inconspicuous in the small but crowded casino, sat down behind a slot machine. He checked his watch. Only 2:30. He inserted his first quarter.

"'Scuse me, Andy?" he turned around to see a tall somewhat younger man behind him. "Do you happen to know where the men's room is?"

"Hallway, first door on your left."

"Thanks," said the younger man. Andy turned around and inserted another quarter. His first one hadn't gotten him anything.

"So…uh, what brings you here?"

Andy sighed. "What do you _think_ I'm doing here?"

"Well, sorry to bother you," said the other man. "I just thought you might have gotten lost. You know, on your way back to Philadelphia?"

That did it. Andy visibly jolted, squirmed for a split second, and then got up so quickly that his chair fell over.

"How the hell did you know my name?"

The younger man's mouth twisted into a sly smile.

"Shit," mumbled Andy. "You're a cop, aren't you?"

The younger man was already pulling his badge out of his pocket. "Detective Henry Stable. You should have known you couldn't run from your responsibilities forever, Mr. White."

* * *

"Listen," snapped Andy as Henry led him down the hallway of the police station. "I didn't want those kids in the first place. Charlotte did."

"Doesn't matter," said Henry. "You agreed to put them into this world, you signed your name on that birth certificate, and if you're smart, you'll apologize to the judge and your wife on Friday and buck up and support them."

"Ex-wife," seethed Andy.

Henry wordlessly opened the cell door and undid the handcuffs. Grudgingly, the older man walked inside and sat down somewhere. Henry left and began making his way back to his office.

"Hey, sexy," whispered a secretary as Henry walked past her desk on the way out. She gestured to the cooler under her desk. "You seem tense. Want a beer?"

"I wish," Henry whispered back. She knew very well that he wasn't allowed to drink during work. But it might have helped him put the disgust that he felt towards Andy, and every other man who was willing to walk away from his family, out of his mind. This sort of thing flew directly in the face of all the reasons Henry had decided to become a detective in the first place, a feeling that always hit especially hard today.

"If I give it to you when you get off of work, then I'll have to drive you back to my place," crooned the secretary.

"Not tonight, Stacie," said Henry apologetically. "I kind of have to take my sister out for her birthday. All her friends are busy during the week, and we haven't had any family around here for a while, so it's kind of our tradition."

"Mmkay," said Stacie. "Rain check?"

"You bet."

Henry stopped at the coffee machine on the way back to the office. All he had left to do for his last half-hour of work was fill out forms. He almost wished that he had a more difficult task that would take his mind away from the recurring emotions that went with this particular date on the calendar. He resented that the day his favorite person in the world was born had also been the worst day of his life. He resented that he had no one who he could really talk to about it without them thinking that he was lying or delusional about the fact that he remembered his parents and knew they really had loved him and wanted him. And that was if he left out the details about the Enchanted Forest, the wicked witch, and the magic tree.

"Hey, Henry?"

Henry glanced up and saw his boss staring at him with her hands on her hips. Uh-oh. He hoped he hadn't been slipping up today.

"Good afternoon, Officer Lee. Is there a problem?"

"You tell me. A little girl showed up here fifteen minutes ago demanding to talk to you. She won't tell anybody her name or where she's from."

Henry raised his eyebrows. "Me specifically?"

"She says she's your daughter."

Henry coughed. "Say what now?"

"Is there any chance she could be telling the truth?"

"We'll see," said Henry, knowing there were easily over a dozen chances she could be telling the truth. He straightened up. "Thank you for warning me."

"No problem," said Officer Lee. "She's waiting in your office. I think all the potato chips you were keeping in there are gone."

"Great," mumbled Henry.

As soon as Henry opened the door to his office, the petite preteen girl stood up and dropped the bag of potato chips she was holding onto the chair. Her hair was dark and curly like his but hung down her back, and the green sundress she was wearing matched the color of her eyes. For a split second, he thought he recognized those eyes.

"Are you Henry Stable?" she asked, nervously gripping the strap of the messenger bag she was wearing.

"Yes. Can you tell me why you think you're my daughter?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"My birthmother put me up for adoption when I was a baby," she said. "And last week I found my birth certificate with your name on it. And…" she slung her backpack off her shoulder and removed something from the pocket, "…this was with it."

Henry reached out and took what the girl was handing him. His hand trembled slightly when he realized what it was. The photograph was dated October 1993. In the picture, he was standing under a tree surrounded by autumn leaves with his arms wrapped around someone.

Henry might not have been able to recognize a photograph of just any girl he'd been with over a decade before. But he recognized this one.

Henry took a deep breath. "Okay…kid…"

"_Kayla_," the girl corrected him. "And I'm not a kid. I'm eleven."

"Um…right. Do you have any idea what happened to your birthmother?"

"No. I live with my parents in Storybrooke, Maine. I need you to come home with me and help me save them."

"Save them from what?" asked Henry. "And hey, how did you even get here all by yourself?"

"I _had_ to come by myself," insisted Kayla. "My parents are cursed." Henry froze. "You remember magic, don't you?" Kayla opened her messenger bag and pulled out a large book with the words _Once Upon A Time_ printed on the cover. She flipped the book open to a page near the back and handed the book to Henry.

_"With a mere flick of her wrist, the evil witch flung the poor old man to the ground and knocked him out with her sleeping powder. She let out a frightening cackle, scaring the little boy, who was crouched just a few feet away. Realizing that he had no other way to hide, he brought his little sister over to what appeared to be a tree trunk with a door but was really a magical wardrobe that would transport them to another land."_

Next to the text was a painted picture of Henry at four years of age crouched next to the wardrobe holding the basket with Helena in it. Every detail was exactly as he remembered. The apples just visible in the basket around the baby. The pattern of the floorboards underneath them. Even the clothes Henry was wearing.

"Henry? Will you come home and help me break the curse? Please? You have to. The book says Rumpelstiltskin told James and Abigail that the savior would be the child of Daniel and Regina, and that's you."

No one but him had spoken of the curse in twenty-eight years.

* * *

_Child Protection Services_

It might have been cliché that Helena Stable, a woman who'd lost her parents at birth, was one of the most devoted social workers on the East Coast. Not so much was the fact that she knew more about the origins of the children she was helping than her own.

"Ms. Stable?" Helena looked up to see one of the male caseworkers in the doorway. He flashed her a smile. "I finished up early. Need some help?"

"No, thank you," said Helena.

"Let me know if you change your mind."

"Okay."

Helena looked down at her stack of paperwork that seemed to double in size overnight every time she got here. Every memo on her desk represented a child who needed someone to make sure they were okay.

_Finished up early my ass_._ There is no "finishing up" here._

The phone on her desk rang. She paused what she was doing, knowing chances are that it was either her boss or her brother, the latter of whom knew he wasn't supposed to call her at work unless there was an emergency. But Henry had a very loose definition of 'emergency'.

"Child Protection Services, this is Helena."

A long shaky breath came from the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Helena, I need you to come here now."

"Henry? Where are you? If you're calling me to complain about the war again, you need to wait until I'm off of work."

"No…I'm at work, and I just found something out, and…I kind of need you to be here, now."

"Okay, Henry," said Helena. "You're freaking me out."

She tensed up as the phone line clicked. Then reluctantly, she went and told her boss that she needed to leave for the day because of a family emergency. She wasn't sure he believed her, especially since they all knew it was her birthday, but he let it go because she was their most valuable employee.

"I swear to God Henry, if this is some prank you're pulling to surprise me with something, I'm going to kill you," Helena muttered under her breath. It wasn't like he should be in a hurry to start the birthday festivities anyway. Her birthday was the one day of the year that she and Henry didn't get along, because it was the day that reminded her why her brother was the one person in the world whom she loved as much as she resented. Every year for the past twelve years or so, it had gone the same way. It would start with him giving her a birthday hug and a present. Then they would go out to dinner. And then the conversation would commence. The one that would start with her asking him the questions she _knew_ he had the answers to, the answers that she so desperately craved.

* * *

"So, kid…" the girl looked up and glared at Henry. "Um, Kayla. What exactly do you mean your parents are cursed?"

"They never get any older," said Kayla. "My mom has turned the same age on her birthday every year since I've been born, and my dad won't even talk about his age. And sometimes they have trouble remembering things. Especially things that happened before I was born."

This didn't sound very unusual so far.

"_Please_ come back to Storybrooke with me," she begged. "Just stay for a few days and meet my family. That's all I ask."

Henry just turned and looked down at her, a little distracted by how mind-blowing it was that this was his daughter. The long dark hair reminded him of his mother, the sweet smile reminded him of Helena, and the green eyes reminded him of…

"Hey, Henry," Henry turned around and saw Helena entering the room breathlessly. "What's…" she stopped when she saw the child.

"I need to talk to you for a second," said Henry, getting up and dragging Helena out into the hallway. Kayla looked down and started leafing through the book some more.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Helena. "If this is a suspected case of child abuse, you know damn well that the standard procedure doesn't involve calling me out of work early and scaring the crap out of me."

Henry sucked in a breath. "That little girl in there was put up for adoption at birth, and she has a birth certificate with my name on it."

Helena's eyebrows shot up. "So she's…"

"My daughter. Yes."

Helena didn't react for a minute. Then she started to giggle.

"You have a love child? And you're _surprised _about that?"

"Helena, _stop_," said Henry. Thankfully she saw that he was genuinely freaked out right now, so she tried to look more sympathetic. Unsuccessfully.

"Who's the birthmother? Anyone you remember?"

Henry wordlessly held out the photograph Kayla had given him. That's when Helena grew serious for real. "Why would s_he _keep a secret like that from you?"

"I don't know," said Henry. That was actually a good question, but at this point it was just about the last thing on his mind.

How had this kid found him? How the _hell _had she gotten a book that had the story of the beginning of his life in it? How had that book even come into existence in the first place? And what did her parents being cursed have anything to do with what happened to him and Helena?

Unless her parents were…their parents?

"Listen, sis," said Henry. "The reason she came to find me was to ask for help. She thinks her parents are cursed."

"So fairy tale metaphors run in the family?" said Helena dryly, even though they both knew the conversation that saying that would lead to wasn't going to happen at this time or place.

"Exactly," said Henry, his mind working quickly. "So if she's saying her parents are "cursed", that might mean she's in a bad situation right now. That's why I needed you here, to help me bring her home so you can scope it out, and if there is something wrong, do…whatever it is that you do."

"And here I thought you'd planned a surprise party," Helena joked.

"Better luck next year?"

Helena smiled. "Let's get this girl home. Where does she live?"

"Apparently a town in Maine called Storybrooke."

"Storybrooke? Seriously?"

"Yeah…seriously." Strange name, Henry realized when he said it. He barely had time to think about that before he introduced Kayla and Helena, explained that he had to leave work early, and then piled everyone into his car.

"So…Kayla," Helena turned around in the front seat and smiled at the girl. "Tell me about yourself."

"Um…I'm eleven years old, I'm in middle school, and I wish I had a pony."

Helena smiled. "What's your favorite subject?"

"Art," said Kayla. "My teacher has us paint a birdhouse every Monday. She always reminds us that birds are loyal creatures, and that if we love them, they will always find us. I love to read too, but we don't do much of that in school."

"Really? What's your favorite book?"

"Hmm," said Kayla. "I'd better tell you later."

Helena shot Henry a kids-say-the-darnedest things smile. He fake-returned it even though he knew exactly why Kayla wasn't telling her.

"So, what are your hobbies?"

"Hmm, going on walks around town, visiting the animal shelter, going to the library with my mom…"

"Do you spent a lot of time with your parents?" asked Helena. That was when Henry suddenly realized Helena wasn't just trying to get to know her niece. She was trying to get an advance glimpse of the family situation. He suddenly felt bad that he'd given her the idea that Kayla's adopted parents might be abusive. He knew more than anyone how that particular issue touched her. Then again…the only reason he had to suspect that Kayla _wasn't _being abused was that his parents might be the ones raising her. But if it was someone else, then maybe the story he'd told Helena about the curse metaphor had more truth to it than he'd thought.

"Sort of," said Kayla. "I only spend time with them indoors. My dad doesn't want Mayor Mills to know I'm his daughter."

Henry tensed up. Whoever was raising his daughter wasn't supposed to have children? "I wonder why that would be a problem," said Helena casually.

"He says they don't get along," said Kayla. "She's a pretty scary person, so I don't like to go near her anyway. That's part of why I thought today would be a good day to sneak out and look for you, Henry."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Today's Founder's Day in Storybrooke," Kayla explained. "Every year, Mayor Mills goes up on her podium and tells a story about how a wonderful, powerful woman founded Storybrooke sometime in the 1970's. Everybody has to listen, and if someone gets up to go do something else, she stops and punishes them. She changes around the details of the story every year, but nobody notices."

"But you do?" said Helena. "Smart kid." Kayla beamed. "What's your favorite radio station?"

Kayla shrugged. "We don't have a radio at our house."

"I'm sure you have a television, though."

"Nope," said Kayla. "Not many people in Storybrooke have a television. My dad has a computer, though. That's what I used to find Henry." She leaned forward. "By the way, why do you have a membership to a website called ? Does that have something to do with fishing?"

"Okay, Helena, why don't you put on the radio?"

Helena rolled her eyes but wordlessly turned on the radio and put it on something eleven-year-old-girl appropriate that made Henry think if there was a radio station for elevator music he'd rather play that. He let the sound of various lyrics about dreams coming to life and boyfriends and breakups fill the car and forced himself to concentrate on the road, reminding himself that driving was the only thing that was going to get him closer to the answers to his questions.

"Hey, Kayla, what's your address?" Henry finally asked when they reached Maine.

"I'll tell you after we get past the sign," said Kayla. "I mapped out the way back here." She pulled out a map and showed them where she'd traced every road she'd been on from Storybrooke to Boston.

"Impressive," remarked Henry.

"I had to," said Kayla. "We never would have found the town again if I hadn't. Trust me."

"Does the mayor ever say anything in her Founder's Day speech about why whoever founded the town decided to name it Storybrooke?" asked Henry.

"She usually says it's because life there is supposed to be so perfect you feel like you're living in a fairy tale," said Kayla. "One year she changed it to 'because everyone's story ends here'. That's kind of true. Nobody ever comes to town; nobody ever leaves."

"Must be a small town," remarked Helena. "I've never heard of it."

Kayla didn't say anything and started singing along to the lyrics of one song that had played one too many times. Helena started studying the map and giving Henry directions to Storybrooke.

When they finally entered the town, Helena's first impression was that this was a quaint little town that didn't get much action. It really did look like something that came from a story book. Small school, small shops, small library, cute little diner. Cars that looked like they all came from the late 70's.

"It can't already be 8:15," remarked Helena as she glanced at the clock tower.

"It isn't," said Kayla. "It's only 6:20. That clock tower hasn't worked in years."

"How much farther from here to your house, Kayla?" asked Henry.

"Just take the road past the apartment building; then when you get to the green house on the end make a right."

Henry took a deep breath. This was it. Maybe, after twenty-eight long years, he was about to see his parents again. If not, something else important was about to happen that would help him find them. He just knew it.

"Are you okay?" asked Helena quietly. Henry shrugged and forced himself to appear calm. When he pulled into the driveway of Kayla's house behind an old maroon bug, he saw a woman rushing out of the house who he knew instantly wasn't his mother. He, Kayla, and Helena all climbed out of the car.

"Kayla!" scolded the woman. "Where on earth have you been?"

"I found the person who's going to fix you!" yelled Kayla. Then she glared at the woman and stomped into the house.

The woman turned and glanced at Henry. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Detective Henry Stable," he shook the woman's hand. "I'm also your child's birthfather."

"_What_?"

"She came to Boston to find me," he said apologetically. "I swear, I didn't even know…"

"Who's out there, darling?" Henry looked up and saw a slightly older looking man limping down the steps of the house. "Is Kayla back yet?"

"I'm fine, Daddy!" huffed Kayla as she stepped out of the house.

"I'm sure you are, Kayla Belle." The old man gave his daughter a quick, understanding hug. "Are you the man who brought her back to us?"

"How can you be so calm about this?" scolded his wife in one of those accents that made Henry want to listen to her talk so more no matter what she was saying. "Kayla _left the state_ and didn't even leave a note."

"I know, darling. I'm just relieved she made it back safely." He squeezed her hand, then held his hand out to shake Henry's.

"Mr. Gold."

"Detective Henry Stable."

"_Henry_. What a lovely name."


	14. Thicker Than Water

Henry and Helena quietly sat down at the Gold's dinner table and graciously accepted an offer of tea from Mrs. Gold, even though they normally both preferred coffee. Kayla had been sent to bed early by her mother.

"I can't thank you enough for returning our daughter to us safely, Mr. Stable," said Mr. Gold. "Her mother has been worried about her all day."

Helena tightened her lips and waited for Henry's reaction. "Cursed" or not, there was obviously something strange about this guy. Considering his eleven-year-old had been gone all day and traveled to Boston by herself to find her birth father without his knowledge or consent, he was definitely disturbingly calm.

"What about you?" she asked gently. "You must have been worried, too."

"Of course I was," Mr. Gold insisted. "But well…you know how mothers are." He looked pointedly at Henry. "Don't you?"

Henry furrowed his brow. His last clear memory of his mother flashed through his mind.

_"A monster named Cora is going to cast a curse that only you can break. Until you do, nobody will be able to do anything, or go home, or…"_

What did this mean? How did this man, his wife, and Henry's estranged daughter fit into the puzzle of finding out what happened to Henry's birth parents?

"Actually, we both grew up in foster care," said Helena. "Our parents abandoned us the day I was born."

"They _lost_ us," Henry corrected her. Mr. Gold smiled. Not that sympathetic sad-clown smile that most people flashed him when this conversation came up. Just a normal smile. Almost sinister.

"Here you go," chirped Mrs. Gold as she re-entered the room carrying a tea tray. Henry thanked her and reached for a tea cup. "Not that one," she said, swiftly taking it for herself and setting it down in front of her. "Sorry. The chipped cup is sort of my lucky charm." Mr. Gold smiled lovingly at her and kissed her cheek. Her whole face lit up.

"So, Henry? You're a detective?"

"Yes," said Henry. "I work out of a police station in Boston."

"Oh!" said Mrs. Gold. "I almost forgot. One of us needs to call Sheriff Graham and let him know Kayla got home safely."

"I'll do it," said Mr. Gold. He got up, hobbled to the kitchen, and began dialing numbers on a rotary phone.

"So, what does Mr. Gold do for a living?" asked Helena.

"We own a number of businesses," Mrs. Gold explained. "Most of them are managed by people around town, but he likes to run the pawn shop himself."

"And what about you?" asked Henry.

"I started working at the library…" she began. But then she stopped. Her face melted into a confused, almost sad expression. "I've been working there as long as I can remember."

Henry leaned in closer. "You must have taken some time off after you adopted Kayla, right?" he pried gently.

"I don't…" Her body and mind froze midsentence. Henry and Helena glanced at each other. When Mr. Gold came back and tapped his wife on the shoulder, she looked up and smiled at him, then took a sip of her tea as if nothing had ever happened.

"So, how old was Kayla when you adopted her?" asked Henry casually.

"According to her adoption papers, six weeks," said Mr. Gold. "Isn't that right, darling?"

"Hmm…" Mrs. Gold rested her hand on her chin, as if lost in thought. "I don't remember."

Henry turned to Mr. Gold. "So, what made you guys decide to adopt a child?" He ignored the look Helena was giving him for the blatant question.

"Fate," answered Mr. Gold. "It was the strangest thing. We weren't even thinking about children when I came across a story on the news about a young woman who was being forced to give up her baby for adoption. The moment a picture of Kayla appeared on the screen, we knew she was ours." Mr. Gold squeezed his wife's hand when he said the last sentence. Her eyes lit up when they met his, but it almost seemed like she was just going along with what he was saying.

"Was there anything on the news about _why_ she was giving the baby up for adoption?" asked Henry.

Mr. Gold's face glazed over with a strange expression. "I really don't remember."

Henry tightened his jaw._ How_ _convenient_, he thought to himself.

* * *

"We don't have to spend the night here, Henry," grumbled Helena. "If we start driving now, we can easily make it back home by morning."

"No way," said Henry. "You don't really want to spend your whole birthday in the car, do you?"

"Better than us spending it locked in a hotel room together."

"Which isn't any worse than us spending it locked in a _car_ together," Henry retorted.

"True."

Henry and Helena quickly checked themselves into the local hotel. An old woman handed them their key and welcomed them to Storybrooke.

"How long will you be staying with us?"

"Just tonight," said Helena.

Simultaneously, Henry replied, "No more than a week." He felt his sister look at him.

"Well, okay then," said the old woman. "Ruby! We have customers!"

A stick-thin girl with bright red highlights about sixteen or seventeen year old came over and showed them to their room, chattering on about the diner and the bakery and the auto shop in case the car needed any repairs and complaining about how hard her granny made her work on Founder's Day. Henry welcomed the chatter. Anything was pleasant compared to what he knew was coming when Ruby closed the door and walked away.

"You're not seriously planning on staying here for days just because an eleven-year-old you barely know asked you to?"

"She's my daughter," said Henry. "And I'm not leaving her until I find out what's going on with those parents."

"Why are you always so suspicious of people you barely know?" asked Helena, even though she knew the answer. "I'll admit that the way they were sidestepping things was a little…weird…but I didn't get the impression that they're guarding anything. They seemed like a perfectly normal, nice family who were surprised to suddenly find their child's birthfather on their doorstep."

"They were hiding something," said Henry. He sat down and pulled off his boots. "I know they were."

"It didn't seem that way to me," said Helena gently. "Henry, plenty of people in this world are good, loving parents. In fact, _most_ people are."

"Yeah? And how many of those ever gave a crap about _us_?"

"You mean other than our alleged real parents who you still haven't told me about?" Helena hated herself for a moment after the words slipped out. Maybe that wasn't the best timing.

"I'll tell you sometime soon," Henry promised. "Let's just get some rest."

"You've been saying soon for ten years!" snapped Helena. "And don't you dare pull that 'when you're ready' crap again. Whatever it is, you've known about it since you were _four_, and somehow you think it's okay to keep it from me for twenty-eight years?"

"I've already told you, it's _not_ that I don't think you could handle it," Henry insisted.

"Well then what is it? I mean it, Henry. I'm not that baby someone handed you in a basket anymore."

"Soon," grunted Henry again. Then he laid down on top of the blanket on the bed in the room they were given and pretended to fall asleep while he tried to fight off the questions playing with his mind. He heard Helena get under the covers on the other side of the bed and waited to open his eyes until her breathing grew heavy.

"I mean it this time," he whispered. "I just have to make sure I'm right."

Just as Henry was closing his eyes for real, the residents of Storybrooke heard the clock tower chime for the first time in twenty-eight years.

* * *

The next morning, Mrs. Gold woke up to find her daughter in the kitchen making tea.

"Be careful with the stove. And don't think that being nice means you're not still in trouble for running away."

"I wasn't running away," said Kayla. "And I know. I just figured you'd want some tea now because Granny's doesn't have the kind you like."

"Since when are we eating breakfast at Granny's?"

"I called ahead and told Henry we'd meet him there," said Kayla. "Daddy said I could."

Mrs. Gold sighed and took over the tea preparation and told Kayla to go find something to wear. Of course Kayla had asked her father for permission instead of her. He would say yes to that. He said yes to a lot of things she never would. It had all started when Kayla's teacher, Mrs. Blanchard, gave her the seemingly harmless gift of an old storybook. But Kayla had become obsessed with it to the point of becoming convinced that Storybrooke was a town full of fairytale characters who were cursed and couldn't remember who they were and that Mayor Mills was some sort of wicked witch. Normally Mr. Gold's patience with Kayla was something his wife loved about him, but the indulgence of an obsession that to her seemed outright psychotic was where she drew the line.

One day after school while he was at the convent harassing Mother Superior about the rent, Mrs. Gold had taken Kayla to see Dr. Hopper. Only when the therapist encouraged her to reach into Kayla's fantasy world in order to draw her back out had Mrs. Gold relented.

The Gold family arrived at Granny's just as the town clock struck 7:45. Kayla pointed to the clock and squealed. "Look! Time is moving again! I knew it!"

A smile spread across her father's face. "So it is, Kayla. So it is." His wife shot him an amused look.

"Uh-oh," whispered Kayla. Mr. Gold turned and saw Mayor Mills marching up the sidewalk. She _never_ came near Granny's.

"Why don't you go take a seat, darling?" Mr. Gold gestured for his wife and daughter to go ahead inside. Then he turned and gripped his cane a little harder than usual. "What can I do for you, Madam Mayor?"

"The clock in the tower. Why is it ticking again?"

"Oh, that. I arranged for some acquaintances of mine to have it fixed late last night." The mayor stared at him hard. "I was just tired of seeing it not moving forward, you know?"

The mayor glanced through the window at Granny's. "Who's that girl?"

"What girl?" replied Mr. Gold.

"The one sitting with your wife. Who is she?"

"Just someone whose father I have some urgent town business to discuss with."

"What kind of town business?"

"I'm afraid I'm unable to disclose that at this time. You'll find out soon enough."

Fortunately, the mayor was interrupted a few seconds later by Sherriff Graham to deal with some minor safety concern. Mr. Gold turned and went inside. Henry and Helena arrived shortly. Kayla plunked herself down right next to Henry as soon as they got a table. The meal went by quickly, full of polite conversation about how well Kayla was doing in school and the various buildings Mr. Gold owned, including this very establishment apparently. Kayla kept looking at Henry like she wanted to tell him something but there were too many people around. She flashed him a sweet smile every time he caught her eye. It killed him a little how much her smile reminded him of a younger Helena.

"So, Mr. Stable, how long are you planning on staying in town?" Mr. Gold finally asked.

"Just a few days," said Henry. "You don't mind me spending some time with Kayla, do you?"

Mr. Gold shrugged. "I suppose an hour or two a day after school couldn't hurt."

"Just make sure we know where you are," added Mrs. Gold.

Kayla flashed Henry another smile and gave him a quiet high-five.

"Well...Mrs. Gold and I need to head to work soon," said Mr. Gold. "Henry, why don't you bring Kayla by the animal shelter for a few minutes? I heard they rescued a litter of puppies last night."

Kayla squealed and looked up at Henry. "Please?"

"Sure," he said, surprised that the man he had just met last night was willing to trust him with his child.

"She has school," Mrs. Gold objected.

"It's okay for her to be late just this once," said Mr. Gold. His wife raised a skeptical eyebrow but didn't say anything. Helena didn't say anything, but that was the one part of the family dynamic that she found suspicious. Mr. Gold was showing no signs of being a controlling father or husband-if anything he seemed_ too_ relaxed-so why was his wife ultimately going along with every little thing he said?

"I'll see you later, Mr. and Ms. Stable," said Mr. Gold, standing up without his cane long enough to shake their hands, then grabbing it and escorting his wife outside.

"Mind if I go back to the motel to take a shower?" asked Helena.

"No problem," said Henry as he brought Kayla out to his car. She hopped into the front seat next to him.

"Thank you for staying," she said. "I knew you were here to help me."

"Of course I am," said Henry. He was a little touched by her remark. And a little suspicious.

"It's not just my parents, you know," said Helena sadly. "It's everyone."

"What do you mean everyone?" asked Henry.

"This whole town," said Helena. "Everyone and everything here was brought here by the curse at the same time as my parents. They just don't remember who they are."

Henry bit his lip. Kayla's parents being from another realm he could understand. But an _entire town_ created by magic? That seemed a little...as much as he hated to even think this word in the context of his own daughter…crazy. It was improbable at best.

"Any particular reason why you think that?" he asked.

"The fairy tales in my book," explained Kayla. "They aren't finished. Cinderella got a wicked stepmother and stepsisters who made her a maid, but the ball she was supposed to meet the prince at hasn't happened yet. Jiminy Cricket vowed to help Geppetto find a son, but Geppetto never built Pinnocchio. Snow White got a stepmother, but her stepmother never turned evil or tried to give her the poisoned apple. Sleeping Beauty was put under a curse by Maleficent, but Maleficent was never killed and the prince never woke her up."

"And you really think that everyone in this town was a character in your book?"

"Yep," said Kayla. "That's why they're not finished. The savior has to defeat the evil witch and finish the story."

"And who's the evil witch supposed to be?" asked Henry.

"Probably Mayor Mills, of course," said Kayla. "You believe me, don't you?"

Henry didn't answer. He wanted to believe her. Really he did. But this was a lot to ask someone to believe, even someone like him.

"Is this the right place?" he asked as soon as they arrived at the animal shelter.

"Yeah," said Kayla. She got out of the car and ran a few steps ahead of him. By the time Henry reached the doorway, Kayla was already at the desk.

"Mr. Nolan? Can I see the new puppies you brought in last night?"

"Sure, Kayla. They're in the back, but let me grab one for you."

Henry froze as soon as the man at the desk durned around. He caught a glimpse of his face

"Kayla, who's that?"

"David Nolan," she said. "Why?"

"Is he in your book?"

Before Kayla had a chance to answer, David returned holding a fresh white puppy just small enough to carry comfortably. "Here you are. Come pet him."

Kayla smiled and stroked the little white creature in David's arms while he held it still. "Be gentle. Make sure you stroke in the direction of her fur."

_"Be gentle, Henry. Make sure you stroke in the direction of his fur."_

_"I know how to do it, James! I help you pet sheep all the time!"_

"I know how to do it, Mr. Nolan. I help you with the dogs all the time, remember?"

"I know, I know, just making sure. Do you want to hold him for a minute?"

As Kayla took the puppy in her arms, Henry stepped closer and stared hard at his early childhood idol. He looked exactly the same as he remembered. Except that in most of Henry's memories, he had longer hair and a beard. But same voice, same mannerisms. Same _age_. James was over ten years younger than Henry now.

"Can I help you, sir?" asked James/Mr. Nolan.

"I…um. Hi. I was just wondering, do you have any sheep here?"

The man laughed. Even though Henry knew he was laughing at him, it was comforting to hear. He'd never thought he'd see him again. "What could you possibly want with a sheep? There are no sheep here in Storybrooke."

"Are you sure you've never tended a flock of sheep?" asked Henry.

"Um…no?" James looked away from Henry long enough to scoop the puppy out of Kayla's arms. "Where are you from? I've never seen you around here before."

"I'm new in town," said Henry.

"Welcome then," said James. "I hope you come to enjoy it here despite the lack of sheep."

Henry swallowed the lump in his throat as he reached out to shake James's extended hand. So many years he'd wondered if he'd ever see this man who was so close to family again. So many words he was holding back.

"I…I think I may have met your mother once," Henry finally managed.

"That's quite possible," said James. "Her name is Edith Nolan, she's a nurse at the hospital."

A small smile spread across Henry's face. "That sounds right. Do you have a picture?"

"Um…yes," said James. He held out a small photograph of himself and his mother. Henry recognized her face instantly. His memories of her were as clear as the ones he had of his own parents. He shut his eyes tightly for a moment.

"Yes. That's her." And if Ruth was in this town, so was everyone else he loved.

"Did she ever treat you?" asked James, obviously confused by the emotional impact of the photograph.

"She helped save my life once," said Henry simply. He cleared his throat. "Well, I've got to drop this one off at school." He grabbed Kayla's shoulder.

"Cool. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah," said Henry.

"_Now_ do you believe me?" asked Kayla as soon as they were back in the car.

"Absolutely," said Henry.

Unexpectedly, the child wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to a stop. "I knew you would," she whispered, not doing Henry's efforts to keep his emotions in check any favors. He knew he should have been there for her all along. He knew he should have been her father. Not that their current situation was entirely his fault. It was just another thing the universe had never given him the chance to do right.

"By the way, he _is_ in my book," said Kayla. "So's his mom."

"What about his wife?" asked Henry, suddenly vaguely remember James returning home for a visit with a pretty blonde princess on his arm.

"She is, but somehow they got split up during the curse," said Kayla. "I think he's had a crush on my teacher for a while."

"And what about my parents?" asked Henry.

Kayla shook her head. "I can't find them anywhere. But they're here. The book says that the curse brought everyone to the same place."

"Do you mind if I hold onto it while you're at school?" asked Henry.

"Of course not," said Kayla with a broad smile as she hopped back into Henry's car.

This was something he was going to do right. He had to. It was what he was born to do.


	15. Law And Order

Henry sat in his parked car outside the school leafing through the book Kayla had given him. The first page spread had on the right side a picture of his parents standing and kissing under a tree, his mother's hand holding the reins of a vaguely familiar horse, and in the corner was a faint image of a woman's angry face against the blue sky. On the left side were words.

_Once Upon A Time, in a land known as the Enchanted Forest, there lived a Lord named Henry who was married to a heartless witch. And in this case, heartless doesn't merely mean cruel, thoughtless, and unkind (although she was all of those things as well). The witch really did have no heart. No one knew why or how, but her vindictive nature and her potential to destroy anyone who rubbed her wrong were what made her famous. Most people in the Enchanted Forest also knew that Lord Henry and the witch had a beautiful daughter named Regina. Regina didn't care that she was beautiful, or that she could have married any prince she wanted. She knew exactly what man she wanted to marry, and she couldn't have cared less that he had no crown, money, or title. Her mother, on the other hand, cared about absolutely nothing else. And that's where our story begins._

So Henry really was named after his grandfather. He hadn't imagined that, or the witch, or the Enchanted Forest. He hadn't imagined any of it. He was surprised at the feeling of a weight being lifted off his shoulders and at how relieved he was to find what to him was solid proof that it had all happened. Twenty-eight years in a land without magic had to have taken their toll. If it wasn't for the brief encounter with Neal fifteen years back, he himself might have thought he was losing it up until now.

He flipped the page to a picture of an impish little man opening a sideways gap in the air that faintly resembled a magic portal. A young couple on horseback cowered about twenty feet back from him. The page after that had a picture of the same couple in slightly finer attire in an old-fashioned inn. The woman was wearing a simple but lovely white dress and had a makeshift bouquet and wreath of flowers in her hair. The last line on the adjacent page read, _"As Daniel and Regina shared their first kiss as man and wife, little did they know that the Dark One was watching them from the corner of the room, and that their happy ending was just one more finished piece of the puzzle he had been assembling for nearly two centuries."_

Just as the thought crossed Henry's mind that this was the closest thing he would ever have to a wedding photo of his parents, he was startled by the sound of tapping on his window. He looked up, saw a uniformed sheriff standing next to him, and rolled down the window.

"Can I help you, officer?" asked Henry.

"Hi, aren't you that guy from Boston who showed up here last night with Mr. and Mrs. Gold's daughter?"

"Yes," said Henry. "She's back home with them now. Why?"

"I'm just curious as to how she got to Boston, what you were doing with her, and why you're right now parked outside the school reading a book of fairy tales."

"Oh, this is Kayla's book," said Henry quickly. "I just dropped her off a little while ago."

"Really?

"I had her parents' permission," said Henry. "She's my biological daughter. That's why she came and found me."

"And we can talk all about that at the station," said the sheriff.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Henry.

"Nope. Just get in the car. Look on the bright side. If you cooperate, I won't have to arrest you."

Henry sighed. "_Great_."

* * *

"And then I dropped Kayla off at school, and she'd asked me to leaf through this fairy tale book she's been carrying around," Henry concluded. "And that's when you showed up."

The sheriff nodded. "And you say you're a detective in Boston?"

"Yes." In response, Henry flashed his badge. Sheriff Graham glanced at it.

"Look, I'm gonna level with you here. The reason I called you in wasn't just because I saw you loitering outside the school."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mayor Mills saw you driving into town last night. She filed a report this morning saying that you were a dangerous man."

"That's crap," said Henry. "I told you, the only time I drove somewhere with Kayla without permission was to bring her home. Just ask her parents."

"I believe you," said Graham firmly. "That's why I've decided to let you go. Mayor Mills may be powerful, but she's not as powerful as she and everyone else seems to think she is. The station is _my_ corner of the town."

"Thanks." Henry stood up to shake the other man's hand. "By the way, do you know where I might be able to get a job around here?"

"I'm sorry?" said the sheriff. "I thought you were going back to Boston."

"Nope. I'm sticking around here for awhile," said Henry.

Sheriff Graham's face took on a disturbingly grave expression. "I wouldn't recommend that. For whatever reason, the mayor has it out for you. And she can be pretty intense."

"If she wants to ban me from moving into her town because I brought my daughter home to her parents, I'm more than happy to have that conversation with her," said Henry.

The sheriff smiled. "In that case, welcome to the neighborhood. You're officially one of the only three people in town who isn't terrified of the mayor. I hope that doesn't change once you meet her."

"Likewise," said Henry. He wondered for a moment if he should ask whether the other person besides himself and Graham was Mr. Gold. He didn't seem like someone who was easily fazed.

"I have an idea," said the sheriff after a moment of consideration. "Why don't you try working for me for the time being?"

"Really?" asked Henry, somewhat taken aback.

"It would just be office work to start," said Graham. "As you got to know the town better, you'd start taking on some of the more important tasks. I couldn't pay you much, but it's enough to live on comfortably."

"Deal," said Henry. That was all he needed. He had enough saved up for potential emergencies. On his walk back to the hotel, he called his boss and his landlord.

* * *

Much as Helena felt like a tag-along in this whole adventure, she was rather enjoying the morning off. Normally if she tried to just relax for a few hours, the thought that one of her kids might need her would make her feel so guilty that she would keep going through her case files unless Henry or one of her friends pulled her away. But today she didn't need to feel guilty, because she didn't have the files with her and the cases she was supposed to follow up on today were being taken care of by other workers in the office. No drama today. Just relaxing and reading in the hotel room.

That's the thought that was crossing Helena's mind as she turned the second page of the fourth chapter of the first _Harry Potter_ book. About two seconds later, Henry walked into the room wearing a deputy badge.

"What's that for?" asked Helena.

"I've taken a job here," Henry answered simply. "I drive back to Boston on Tuesday to pick up my stuff from the apartment and work. You need anything?" Helena's mouth dropped open. "Guess I'll take that as a no."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second," Helena got up, letting the book she'd been reading fall shut by itself. "You're _moving here_?"

"I have to," said Henry, avoiding eye contact with his sister. "It's not just because of Kayla."

"Then why the hell would you do this?" asked Helena.

"It's something I've got to do."

"_Why, Henry?_"

"Because. It just. Is," he answered.

"Okay, Henry…" Helena got up and grabbed his shoulder with her right hand. "You know I love you. You're my big brother. You're my rock. But would you just listen to me when I'm telling you that this is bar-none the absolute _stupidest_ thing you have ever done in your entire life?"

Henry shrugged, still looking at a spot on the carpet two feet behind Helena. "I don't know about that. There _was_ that waitress in Springfield."

Helena grit her teeth. "_Not funny._"

"I've got some work to do," said Henry. "You should take a walk around town. It would help you get your bearings."

"You seriously think I'm just going to uproot my life and stay here with you?" yelled Helena as she marched out the door. "Have a nice…whatever this is!"

"Good luck getting back to Boston!" yelled Henry. He didn't think to do anything to keep his sister from leaving. She would probably come back to visit him in a few days. Right now, he needed the room to himself anyway. Henry sat down at the vanity-the closest thing this hotel room had to a desk-and spread out Kayla's storybook and his sketchpad. For the next few hours, Henry read through the entire book and sketched a picture of each of the characters in it, starting with his parents and the dark one. After the chapter about how his parents met Ruth and James came three chapters about what else was going on in the Enchanted Forest at the time and a brief backstory about the evil witch. Then was a chapter about Henry's birth and his parents' stable, then a chapter about Robin Hood. It felt so strange seeing his parents' love story mixed in with the familiar fairy tales.

"_What most of the Enchanted Forest did not know about the Dark One, is that like the evil witch, he was not always dark. There was a time when he was a good man like any other. He had a job. He had friends. He had a wife. But when he made the decision to run from the battlefield during the First Ogre War, he returned home in shame and lost those things one by one. When fourteen years had gone by, all Rumpelstiltskin had to his name was a small farm and his young son, the only person who still accepted him and loved him for who he was. Tragically, the very actions that Rumpelstiltskin took to protect and keep his boy led to them being separated forever."_

Henry ran his hand over the illustrated side of the page spread, which had an image of a frightened adolescent boy that was presumably the Dark One's lost son. "Where have I seen that guy before?" he wondered out loud to himself.

Half of the pages Henry had left in his sketchpad were full of images from the book by the time he reached the chapter about James herding and slaying a dragon for King Midas. Henry couldn't help but grin through the whole chapter. He'd known James was cool, but not _this_ cool. He then sketched an image of James in his armor next to an image of what James looked like in Storybrooke. His haircut and of course his clothes were different, but everything else was the same.

That was when Henry glanced at the clock and realized it was already 4:30 and he hadn't eaten lunch yet. He closed the book and left it in a dresser drawer, but he brought the sketch pad with him.

There were only a handful of customers at the diner at this hour. Granny and Ruby were both behind the counter serving them. It took Henry seconds to profile them, and a sneak look at his sketchpad under his coat confirmed it. Ruby was the girl who could turn into a wolf during a full moon and didn't realize it yet. _Never looking at that girl the same way again_, Henry thought.

"There you are, Henry." Ruby walked over and plunked a cup of espresso in front of him.

Henry smiled. "Thanks. But aren't you a little young to be buying drinks for strange men?"

"Young and taken," said Ruby dryly. "It's not from me."

"Oh?" Henry felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down. Kayla was standing there licking off a chocolate milk mustache. "Hey, you. Do your parents know you're here?"

"Yep," said Kayla. "And you're taking me for a walk."

Ruby shot Henry a questioning look. He shrugged and followed Kayla out the door.

"So, have you read the whole book yet?" she asked.

"Most of it," said Henry. "Right now I'm trying to figure out who's who."

Kayla beamed. "Operation Zebra is on!"

Henry chuckled. "What? That's got nothing to do with…"

"I know," said Kayla. "It's a code name. So nobody figures out what we're up to until the time is right."

"Gotcha," said Henry. "So...do you have any idea who your parents are?"

Kayla shrugged. "Probably just some random villagers. They don't really look like anybody in the book."

"The people who own half the town were just random villagers?" said Henry questioningly. "That seems rather unlikely."

"My parents do _not_ own half the town!"

"Sorry."

"They own the whole town."

"Oh."

"Well, not town hall and the school and the sheriff station and stuff like that," Kayla admitted. "But all the houses and apartments and other buildings."

"Right," said Henry. "Oh, speaking of that…guess who just became the sheriff's deputy?"

Kayla's eyes widened when Henry flashed the deputy badge. "_Brilliant!_ You can use it to gather intel for Operation Zebra."

Henry hadn't even been thinking of it in those terms. But yes, he supposed he could.

"I have to go find my mom at the library," said Kayla. "See you later."

"Take care of yourself!" Henry called after her.

* * *

Later that evening, while Henry was soaking up the last few chapters of Kayla's storybook, his sister was calling out for her second refill on her margarita.

"You sure you want another one already?" asked the middle-aged bartender.

"Who cares?" mumbled Helena. "It's not like I'm driving anywhere." It seemed no taxi service was willing to drive her out of Storybrooke, and it went without saying that Henry wasn't letting her take his car.

"Suit yourself," said the bartender. He poured her drink and walked away. Moments later, a stranger took the empty barstool next to Helena.

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.

Helena looked up. "No. What makes you ask that?"

"Just because you don't come to The Rabbit Hole very often," said the man. "And believe me, I'd know if you did. I'm here every Friday night."

"How the hell did it get to be Friday night?" Helena mumbled to herself. The good news was that if she could get a ride back with Henry on Tuesday she'd only miss two more days of work between now and then. Then the thought of Henry and everything he was doing here made her feel like punching something all over again.

"So, stranger?" Helena turned to the man sitting next to her, hoping for some sort of a distraction. "Why every Friday night?"

The man sighed deeply. "You're going to think I'm crazy."

"Not compared to the past twenty-four hours or so of my life," Helena assured him.

He sighed again and turned to face Helena. She suddenly noticed how young he was. His beard and weary expression made him look like he was in his mid-thirties, but he was probably really in his mid-twenties at most. "On a Friday night about a year ago, I met someone here. I'd never seen her before, but somehow meeting her felt like…fate. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. Being with her felt so perfect, it was like a dream. We danced together for hours. Well, at about three in the morning, she decided she wanted to go home, and because she'd had a bit too much by then, I offered to drive her. We weren't going to do anything, of course, but I wanted to make sure she got home safely." The man paused and starred down at his drink.

"What happened?" Helena prodded gently.

"On the way home, we got into a car accident. I was sent home from the hospital with a simple dislocated shoulder the following morning, and she's been in a coma ever since. And every single Friday night, I come here, buy a drink, and tell myself that today's the day I'm going to the hospital to see her and tell her how sorry I am."

"But you've never actually done it?" Helena guessed.

"Nope."

After a few minutes and a few more sips of both their drinks, Helena turned back to the man. "Why don't we go now?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You mean it? You'd come with me?"

"Absolutely," said Helena. The social worker in her was making her feel for him, and plus, it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

"Thanks," the guy got up. "It means a lot."

She held out her hand. "I'm Helena Stable, by the way."

"I'm Kevin. Kevin Prince."

* * *

When Kevin and Helena's taxi arrived at the hospital, the lobby was vacant but for one middle-aged nurse.

"Can I help you?"

"We need to visit a coma patient."

"I'm sorry," said the nurse. "Visiting hours are over."

"But…" before Helena could protest farther, the nurse walked away to answer a phone. Kevin turned and glanced at Helena with a hopeless look in his eye. "Screw this," she whispered. She grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallway that had a sign labeled, "overnight patients" with an arrow pointing straight ahead. No one was in the overnight patient's room but two people fast asleep in their beds and a young volunteer tidying up the room. When she saw Helena and Kevin, she simply put her finger to her lips and motioned for them to enter. There was a tiny closed-off room with glass walls towards the back. As soon as Kevin noticed it, he pointed.

"That's her," he whispered. "That's Eleanor."

Helena let Kevin squeeze her arm as she led them to the small room and opened the door. The young woman was lying on her bed looking pale as the white sheets. Kevin released Helena's hand, so she hung back in the doorway. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he whispered softly to Eleanor and stroked her limp arm with his fingertips. The scene was both beautiful and gut-wrenching.

"I'm so sorry, Eleanor," he whispered. "Please forgive me." He bent over and kissed her softly on the lips.

The moment he pulled away, she sucked in a sharp breath of air and her eyelids flew open.

"Phillip?"


	16. Every Piece Will Find It's Place

Helena turned and threw open the glass door separating the coma patient from the rest of the overnighters. "The coma patient just woke up!" The startled young volunteer glanced up, saw Eleanor sitting up in her bed, and ran out the door to go find a doctor.

"Oh, Phillip!" squealed Eleanor. "I can't believe you found me!"

"Um…" the thrilled but bewildered man smiled as Eleanor threw her arms around him. "My name's Kevin. We met at a bar, remember?"

"What's a bar?" asked Eleanor.

Kevin just laughed and hugged her back. "I can't believe you're awake!"

"Neither can I, my prince." Eleanor cupped Kevin's cheek in her hand for a second, then pulled him into a surprise kiss.

"Excuse me, coming through." A doctor burst through the door behind Helena, who stepped out of the way. "Hi, Eleanor. How are you feeling?"

"It's not Eleanor," said the woman, pulling herself away from Kevin's shoulder but holding onto his hand. "It's Aurora. Princess Aurora. And I'm feeling very well, thank you."

"Um…okay." The doctor began looking at the monitor next to her making sure that her vital signs were okay.

"Ooh, what's that?" asked Eleanor. "Are you a wizard?"

"Something like that," said the doctor. He turned around to grab a blood pressure cuff from a nearby drawer, and that's when he happened to glance at Helena. "Oh, hey there. Come here often?" Helena took that as her cue to leave.

* * *

Henry finally shut the story book. He put it back in the drawer he had gotten it from, too drained to think about it anymore right now but not ready to return it to Kayla just yet. He sat down on the bed and leafed through his sketchpad. The only characters he had identified so far were Ruby, Granny, and James. By far the most jarring discovery he had made that day was the fact that the evil witch was his and Helena's grandmother. He wondered if Kayla had also made that connection, that the evil witch was her biological great-grandma.

As soon as Henry heard a knock on the bedroom door, he got up and shoved the sketchpad into the drawer with the book. Unsurprisingly, when he opened the door, his sister skulked in.

"Thought you were going back to Boston?" asked Henry.

"I am, when you give me a ride home on Tuesday." Helena plopped herself down on the bed.

"No other way out of town?" Henry questioned.

"Nope. No bus or taxi or anything is willing to drive out of Storybrooke."

"Interesting," Henry remarked. There was nothing in the book about the town itself, but it seemed safe to say it was probable that no one in Storybrooke had ever left except for Kayla.

"I still hate you for dragging me to this hellhole."

"Whatever."

"And for being an idiot and giving up your _awesome_ career for all this."

"I'm going to take a shower now," said Henry, less because he needed one than to get away from his sister's criticisms.

"I've always wondered why you decided to become a detective in the first place," Helena remarked. "Hope it wasn't to go off looking for long-lost kids."

"Goodnight, Helena." Henry clicked the bathroom door shut behind him, knowing his sister would be asleep by the time he got out.

It was sad and unfair that he couldn't tell her what was going on now. But hopefully, it would all make sense. Maybe, in the end, it was possible that she would even forgive him.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need your book back anytime in the next few days?" asked Henry.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Kayla on the other end of the line. "I'll call you back later. My parents want to take a walk in the woods."

"Okay, one more thing. Do you have any idea where the book came from in the first place?"

"I got it from my teacher, Miss Blanchard."

"Thanks," replied Henry as he quickly wrote down the name. "Have a good day."

"You, too!"

The phone lines clicked. Henry stuffed his sketchpad in his jacket and left after rattling off some fake explanation to Helena about where he was going. He went down to Granny's to get some coffee before doing anything else.

"Whipped cream?" asked Ruby as she handed him his drink.

"Sure, thanks," said Henry. "By the way, Ruby. Do you happen to know where I could find a Ms. Blanchard?"

"Oh, you're looking for Mary Margret. She came here to get her coffee awhile ago. She might be at home; she spends a lot of time taking care of her aging father and stepmother while she's not at work. Or maybe the hospital, I think she volunteers on weekends."

"Thanks," said Henry. He paid for his coffee and left. Ten minutes later, Helena walked in.

"Good morning," Ruby greeted her cheerfully. "Want some coffee? Your brother was just here."

"Naturally," Helena groaned. "Any way I can book a second room for the next couple of nights? Henry kept me up all night snoring."

"No problem," said Ruby. "I'll just let my Granny know." Helena smiled and waited for her coffee.

"Hey." Helena turned when a man slid into the seat next to her. It took a moment for her to recognize him as the same doctor she'd seen last night.

"Come here often?" asked Helena mockingly.

"Sorry if I was a little crude last night," he said. "I'm Dr. Whale."

"Helena Stable." She cordially accepted a handshake from him.

"It's been awhile since I've met a girl as pretty as you," said the doctor. "Other than some of my patients and the nuns, but those are unavailable for obvious reasons." Helena didn't say anything. "You have a nice smile."

"Thanks."

"Mind if I buy you a drink sometime?"

Helena stood up. "I appreciate the effort, Dr. Whale. But there are three things I've learned from my brother. One, Pop Tarts are the breakfast of champions. Two, it's okay to be over twenty and still sleep with a stuffed animal. Three, never fall for smooth talkers." She walked away to go talk to Granny about her room, leaving the doctor with a perplexed expression on his face.

* * *

Within the hour, Henry had found Mary Margret's house. She opened the door and stepped outside as soon as he reached her porch.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Henry wasn't quite sure what to do next. Under similar circumstances, he would have popped out his detective badge and started asking her questions. But that didn't seem appropriate considering all he had to inquire about was a storybook.

"Yes, hi," he said. "You may have heard of me. I'm the new deputy and Kayla Gold's birthfather."

"Nice to meet you," Mary Margret said sweetly. "I'm actually on my way to the hospital now."

"That's fine. I was just wondering where you got that book of fairytales you gave Kayla."

"That old thing?" Mary Margret motioned for Henry to follow her and continued down the sidewalk. "It was in a box of books that the library donated to my classroom a few months ago."

"It was very generous of you to give it to her," Henry remarked. "Any particular reason why?"

Mary Margret hesitated. "Kayla can be a handful sometimes. But she is a very creative and intelligent little girl who ends up spending more time on her own than she should."

"What do you mean?" asked Henry. "Are her parents neglecting her?"

"Oh no, not at all," said Mary Margret quickly. "It's her social life outside of home that I'm worried about. She tells me all the time that she can never keep a friend at school for more than one grade because after that they forget about her. It's the saddest thing. The reason I gave her that book is because I wanted her to have the most important thing any child can have: hope." Henry just nodded. "And now she's convinced herself that everyone in town is a fairytale character."

Henry smiled. "You knew about that, huh? Who does she think you are?"

"Snow White. What about you?"

"Oh…I'm not in it." When Mary Margret turned to look at something, Henry quickly pulled out his sketchpad and compared her face to the picture of Snow White. Yes, this was definitely her. Only Snow White had better hair.

Moments later, David turned the corner and he and Mary Margret instantly both looked away and blushed.

"Hi David," said Mary Margret softly, somewhat awkwardly.

"Good morning, Mary Margret," David replied. Both quickly went on their way.

* * *

"Daddy?" asked Kayla as she helped her father spread out a picnic blanket on a grassy hill just east of the toll bridge. "Where did you get everything in your shop from?"

"Well, that would take a long time to go over, Kayla," said Mr. Gold. "You know I have quite a few things in my shop."

"That's okay," Kayla replied as she took some empty plates from her mother and set them on the blanket. "Just go over one thing at a time."

Mrs. Gold laughed. "Why on earth do you suddenly need to know that, Kayla? Is there something specific you're looking for?"

"No. I'm just getting information for Operation Zebra." Mr. and Mrs. Gold glanced at each other, wondering if the other knew what she was talking about. "It's…need-to-know," Kayla explained.

Mrs. Gold raised her eyebrows. "Guess what? We're your parents. Therefore, we need to know."

Kayla sighed. "Bottom line, I'm pretty sure that every single object in the pawn shop is something out of my book."

Mrs. Gold shot a glance at her husband, who simply smiled. "What do you mean?"

"To name a few, the axe you have on your wall came from one of the Seven Dwarves' mines, the red cloak you have is Red Riding Hood's magic hood, the golden sword you have was turned gold by King Midas, and I'm pretty sure that those ugly dolls were Geppetto's parents."

"Interesting thought," mused Mr. Gold as he accepted a peanut butter sandwich from his wife. "If that's true, what do you suppose the ship in a bottle is from?"

Kayla shrugged. "Maybe it's a model of a pirate ship."

Mr. and Mrs. Gold exchanged amused glances. This fairy tale thing may be out of hand, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about their daughter's imagination lacking anytime soon.

"Where did you get it from?"

Mr. Gold shrugged. "Everything in that shop has been there as long as I can remember."

Kayla looked disappointed. "Even the case of magic wands in the back room?"

"Yes, Kayla. Even that."

* * *

Henry sat down on a park bench to make a list of the people of Storybrooke he'd identified so far. Granny and Ruby, Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. David, James. Mary Margret, Snow White. Marco, Geppetto. Dr. Hopper, Jiminy Cricket. Sidney Trapp, the Genie. Nearby, a man was sitting next to a sandbox watching his tiny daughter play.

"Good afternoon, Henry." Henry looked up and saw David standing behind him. "Enjoying our town?"

Henry smiled. "Very much." David nodded. "Hey. Is there anyone else who works at the animal shelter with you?"

"Not on a regular basis," said David. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just trying to get a hang on who does what around here," Henry replied carefully. "I know people are expected to know everything that goes on in a small town."

David came over and sat next to Henry. "I can give you some help, if you like. That guy over there is Jefferson and his daughter is Paige. Jefferson works at a formalwear shop. His wife died in a car crash a couple of years back."

Henry smiled. "The person I've been hearing about the most the past couple of days is Mayor Mills. What's the deal with her?"

"Oh, that woman is a sadistic…" David remembered that they were sitting next to a playground and bit his tongue. "Witch. I haven't seen her much since you arrived, but when you're in the same room or even on the same block as her, you know it. She snaps at everyone who talks to her, and when people back away from her in fear she actually smiles."

"Sounds like a witch to me," said Henry simply. David smiled. "Does she have any family?"

"Yes, a daughter," David replied. "But she doesn't talk much. Just follows her mother's orders, as much at her mercy as the rest of us. I think they might even still live together in that outrageous mansion."

Henry tensed up. Sounded like something the evil witch would do to his mother. "So," he smiled and decided to change the subject. "What's the deal with that schoolteacher?"

"Um…uh…nothing."

Henry laughed. "Those looks back there were _not_ nothing. Even I know that."

"I've…I've…that's how we've been as long as I can remember," David finally admitted.

"And you've never talked to her, or asked her out, or anything?"

"Maybe she's not interested."

"Then you won't be any worse off than you are right now," Henry pointed out. "Besides, she's definitely interested. Even Kayla's noticed." David blushed a tiny bit. Henry's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he answered it quickly. "Hello? Sorry, James, I have to go. My sister needs me to pick up something from the store."

"Um…okay. It's David."

"Right, I knew that," Henry corrected himself. "Later, man."

After picking up a few bare necessities for himself and Helena, which he knew she could have easily picked up herself and was probably forcing him to do it because she was still mad at him, Henry went back to investigating the town. Jefferson was obviously the Mad Hatter, although why he alone had the same name in the book that he did here was a mystery. Paige was his daughter Grace. Graham was the huntsman that had agreed to serve the king's court in exchange for outlawing the hunting of wolves.

Near Granny's was a flower shop where a young blonde woman was arranging a bouquet. Henry walked closer to it and decided to try and profile her. After five minutes of scrolling through, he suddenly realized she was Abigail Midas. Henry lightly smacked himself in the face with the sketchpad. Of course. He had been so happy to be able to talk to James again that he had completely forgotten that the guy was supposed to be _married._

"Hi, Henry."

Henry looked up and saw Ruby standing behind him. "Your sister told me to let you know you're paying for dinner tonight."

Henry sighed. "Of course."

"By the way," Ruby added. "David says thank you."

"What?"

"Thanks to you, he and Mary Margret are on their first date at the restaurant right now, and it's going _great_!"

Oh, crap. What had he done?


	17. True Lust

By the time the sun began to set in Storybrooke, Henry had managed to profile another dozen of its residents. Helena, meanwhile, had spent some time at the library and was now enjoying dinner at Granny's. It was 8:30 when Henry finally ambled through the restaurant's door and right past Helena without so much as glancing at her. The reason why was sitting at the counter nibbling on the remains of a slice of pecan pie. Helena raised her eyebrows and tried in vain to catch Henry's eye.

"Hi," said Henry with a smooth smile as he sat down in the empty seat next to the young woman. She turned her head to face him. "Nice shoes," he meaningfully glanced at her black boots. "Want to make your parents proud?"

Her response was a laugh, but not the kind of laugh he'd hope for. "We can start with me buying you a drink," Henry continued hopefully.

The woman stood up and narrowed her dark almond-shaped eyes. "Hell. No." As she sauntered out of the restaurant, Granny happened to catch Helena's eye, and the two exchanged an amused smirk. A few seconds later, Ruby noticed Henry at the counter and took his order.

"You all done, girl?" Granny asked Helena as she walked over and took the younger woman's dishes. "I'm wondering, does he save this kind of behavior for vacations, or is he always like this?"

Helena grimaced. "He's been like this since he was twelve."

Granny leaned in closer to Helena. "Can you do me a favor and let him know that if he's looking for a good time, The Rabbit Hole is a few blocks away? I need him to stop alienating my customers."

Helena forced a smile. "Will do."

After she and Henry both finished eating, Henry emerged from the restaurant with Helena following close behind. "Hey!" she called, causing him to barely glance behind him. "What's your problem? Why the hell didn't you come sit with me?"

"Figured you still didn't want to talk to me."

"Are you sure it wasn't because you were too busy trying to get laid?" snapped Helena.

"No, it wasn't," mumbled Henry, barely looking where he was going as they made their way down the cold dark sidewalk. "But I_ was_ sure that I had a shot with that chick at the bar. Did you see that had the Chinese symbol for fun tattooed on her wrist?"

"Actually, it was the symbol for war." Helena jumped a couple of steps ahead to catch up with her brother. "You know the way you act around women is disgusting, right? How would you feel if some guy treated _me_ that way?"

"Oh, I'd kill him."

"And you somehow have it in your head that I have more value as a person than every other woman?"

Henry sighed. "Haven't we already had this conversation…oh…twice a year since you stopped believing that babies come from an iron claw machine hidden at the hospital?"

"Yeah. Because it never sinks in." Helena grabbed the door and pushed her way into the hotel ahead of her brother. "I don't understand it, Henry. You've never been a bad person. How the hell did you end up being such a big slut?" She turned and marched upstairs without giving him a chance to respond. Henry just sighed. He knew his lifestyle wasn't always smart. But right now, he had to do something to try and keep the memory of a certain someone from playing with his mind. Which was a lot easier before he had a living reminder of her.

* * *

_October 1993_

_The chilly Boston night air was thick with rush hour smog as Henry jogged around the track owned by the police academy. "Mr. Stable! Faster! Run like your best friend's life depends on it!" bellowed the coach. Henry sucked in his breath and managed to pass a couple of his classmates. "Run like if you can't keep up with the fastest person in this class, an innocent person who you care about is going to lose everything. Because THAT'S what it's like out in the real world!"_

_"Yeah, right," muttered the guy next to Henry. "Watch us all become cops and do nothing but paperwork and giving fat chicks speeding tickets."_

_"NO TALKING! THAT'S AN ORDER!"_

_This was Henry's life now. Helena had signed herself out of the system and moved in with him the day she turned sixteen. A month later, he'd been accepted into the police academy. He'd set aside enough money to sustain them during his fourteen weeks of training combined with the benefits they were still receiving from the state. He and Helena couldn't often afford to spend money on anything that wasn't an absolute necessity, but they made do. A lot of people had asked Henry what had made him decide to go to the police academy. Obviously, a big part of it was better paychecks than he'd ever gotten as a cashier. He knew that the downside was that he'd be putting himself at risk on a regular basis. But for him, this had always been a harsh world._

* * *

_After the workout and a quick shower, Henry got in his car and drove home. When he got there he and Helena would have TV dinners, do homework, and then he'd probably go to bed early while she called her friends on the phone. Just like every other day. That was what he was thinking about five miles down the road from his apartment, when he saw a swirling mass of neon green shoot up out of a nearby field. He pulled over without stopping to think about it._

_Henry jumped out of the car and instantly felt the wind slap his face. He ran in the direction of the bright whirlpool and froze five feet away from it. After a moment, a screaming woman shot out of the whirlpool and landed on the grass. Then the whirlpool shrank and vanished. Henry stayed still for a second, starring into the pit of dirt left behind by the magic. The woman on the ground stirred and weakly pulled herself into a sitting position, clumps of grass sticking to her white blouse and dark hair._

_"Hey?" yelled Henry. "Are you okay?"_

_"No," she mumbled. He stepped closer to her. "What realm am I in?"_

_"Did you hit your head?" he asked._

_"I think so," she mumbled. "Everything went dark for a moment."_

_Henry knelt down next to her and helped her sit up all the way. She looked about his age, give or take a year._

_"Are you from The Enchanted Forest?" he asked._

_"No. That's where I was trying to go. I have a pouch of gold I can trade for a magic bean and a compass."_

_Henry took a deep breath. "I'm sure we can figure something out," he lied. "For now, just come with me."_

_"No way," she mumbled, even as she let him put his arm around her back to keep her from falling over. "Why would I trust you? I don't know anything about you or this realm."_

_"This realm is called Earth," said Henry. "And you should trust me because I'm the only other human in this world who's ever been to The Enchanted Forest and wants to go back as badly as you. And because you have a concussion and have nowhere else to go."_

_She hesitated, then held out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Aerona of the White Kingdom and the High Seas."_

_"I'm Henry Stable."_

_"What kind of a name is that?"_

* * *

_"Henry!" scolded Helena as soon as he walked in the door with Aerona leaning against him for support. "I thought we agreed, no girls over on school nights."_

_"Thanks, sis," replied Henry dryly. "She's just a friend who needs to stay over because she's hurt."_

_"Huh? Nope. She's too pretty to just be a friend."_

_"Don't worry," said Aerona as Henry helped her lower herself onto the couch. "I'm married." Helena paused to check for the wedding band and then walked away._

_"Sounds like you bring a lot of girls over," slurred Aerona as Henry adjusted the pillows on the sofa so she could lie down._

_"My sister knows there are only two types of women in my life. The kind I'm friends with and talk to and the other kind."_

_"And when you find both of those in the same person, that's called love," muttered Aerona wistfully as she starred at her ring._

* * *

_Aerona spent the next three days lying on the couch and mostly sleeping. Henry called in sick to take care of her on Friday and stayed home to do it on Saturday and Sunday._

_"Is there something I should know about your friend?" asked Helena, who was sitting in their old armchair flipping through a magazine. "She keeps calling the TV an 'enchanted box'."_

_"Don't worry about it," said Henry. "She hit her head."_

_"And I'm right here," mumbled Aerona, who was still lying on the couch._

_"I'm going to the movies in a few minutes."_

_"Be back by ten."_

_"Okay." Soon after, Helena tossed her magazine on the coffee table and left. Curious, Aerona picked it up._

_"What's this?"_

_"It's like a book, only once a week you throw it away and get a new one."_

_"How barbaric."_

_"So," Henry sat down in the armchair. "Are you feeling any better?"_

_"Not really. My head still feels like someone is pounding on it with a mallet."_

_"We should probably try to get you to a clinic later today," Henry admitted. "Really, you should have seen a doctor the day I found you. But you have to promise me that you won't talk to _anyone _about magic, or portals, or wherever the hell you came from."_

_"What happens if I do?"_

_Henry hesitated. "It's…um…it's illegal to discuss magic openly in this realm."_

_Aerona's strange expression told him that she still didn't entirely trust him. "Okay."_

* * *

_The following Saturday, Henry and Aerona were taking a walk along a busy street. "The noisy bikes on the road are motorcycles. And those things above us that look like they have candles in them at night are lampposts."_

_"What about the things with cords that people hold up to their ears while they talk?"_

_"Telephones. We use them to communicate."_

_"How does that work?"_

_"Basically, the sound of your voice travels to the other person through a series of wires. That's why we have those." He pointed up at the telephone wires strung right above their heads._

_"Fascinating," Aerona remarked._

_"Yeah. Electricity is this world's magic."_

_"Speaking of magic…" Aerona subtly slipped her left arm around Henry's. "What's the easiest method of realm jumping to locate in this realm? Preferably something cheap but reliable."_

_Henry sighed. "Yeah, about that…"_

_Aerona dropped both arms so they hung at her sides and starred up at him with determined emerald eyes._

_"You're not going to help me get to The Enchanted Forest, are you?"_

_"I would if I could, but…this world doesn't have any magic. None. No one even believes it exists." Aerona looked away and starred at the ground with an unreadable expression. "I'm sorry. Neither one of us has a way to get there."_

_Aerona shook her head. "People have come here from magical realms and gone back before." Henry raised his eyebrows. "I've known quite a few men of travels in my life. There are so many ways to travel between realms-magic beans, magic mirrors, magic hats, magic slippers. There's no way that Earth doesn't have any of them."_

_Henry froze. This was a possibility he hadn't even considered before. All his mother had told him was that a monster would cast a curse that only he could break. He'd assumed the curse was something that was going to happen in _this _land. Maybe it was something that he had to go back to fix._

_"But how are we going to find that?" asked Henry. "You can't even talk about magic in this realm without people treating you like there's something wrong with you."_

_"I'll figure it out. I've spent half my adult life looking for a way back to my husband. I'm not about to let a world full of imbeciles stand in my way." Henry and Aerona both smiled. "Are you with me?" She held out her hand._

_"I'm with you." Henry took her hand and shook it lightly, unintentionally keeping her hand in his grasp a few moments longer than necessary._

* * *

_When he had started attending the police academy, Henry had expected the hardest part to be something physical. As it turned out, forcing himself to stay awake through the lecture portion of the day_ and_ actually pay attention to them was proving much harder. He discreetly snapped a rubber band against his wrist as the instructor wrapped up his elaborate speech about DUI's._

_"Let's say you are driving a patrol car and pull a man over who you suspect has been driving drunk. When you ask him to get out of the car, he does. What do you do?"_

_Just then, Aerona stepped into the doorway of the classroom. She smiled and waved. He discreetly smiled back while a man next to him answered the question._

_"That's right. And what if he refuses to take the test? What do you do next, Mr. Stable?"_

_"Um...arrest him."_

_"Yes! What do you say to him?"_

_Henry forced himself to look away from Aerona as she kept her eyes locked on him and placed her left hand on the inside of the door frame. "Mr. Smith, you are under arrest for driving under the influence," recited Henry. "I'm going to need you to turn around, put your hands behind your back, and spread your legs. You have the…"_

_"WRONG! It's FEET! Spread your FEET!" Henry's face turned red as about twelve of his classmates burst out laughing around him. "That's an extra four laps at the end of the day for all of you because Mr. Stable is letting his girlfriend distract him! You are all dismissed for lunch!"_

_"Yes, sir!"_

_Henry discreetly slipped off to a corner of the room where Aerona was waiting. "I brought you a sandwich. Helena told me you're always complaining about the food here."_

_Henry smiled. "Thanks. How did you get here?"_

_"I took a taxi cab and paid the driver in gold coins. Is that allowed?"_

_"I'm sure he didn't mind." Henry took a bite out of the sandwich._

_"I've been at the library researching magic all day," said Aerona. "Unfortunately, most books about it are in the fiction section."_

_"Don't get discouraged. You did _just _start looking. And this weekend I'll help you out for a few hours."_

_"By a few you'd better mean all you can. You don't get to make me do all the work and then reap the same benefits."_

_"Fine. Twenty then."_

_"Thank you." Henry smiled. Both were trying to squash the way the idea of spending so much time together in just a few days was making them feel._

* * *

_"Okay, that does it." Henry picked up the book he was holding and threw it onto the empty chair opposite him at the library. "I'm done. I'm fried."_

_Aerona ran her hand over her face wearily. "What does that mean?"_

_"My brain can't work anymore today," said Henry. "I know it's only four in the afternoon, but I spend all week trying to memorize stupid facts that I wish I'd cared more about in high school government class. I can't spend the whole weekend studying too."_

_Aerona frowned. "So you're not going to help me again tomorrow?"_

_"I will, but only if you let me show you how we have a good time in this realm tonight."_

_"Sounds tempting." After a moment of Henry teasing her with his playful smile, Aerona tossed her book aside, too, gathered her collection of notes she'd been making, and left the library with him. Three hours, two new outfits, and a fake ID later found them at the grand opening of the hottest nightclub in town._

_"These drinks are so good," remarked Aerona "I've only ever had straight up rum before. Bartender, we'll have another round of pink ladies over here!"_

_"Beer for me," Henry interjected quickly._

_"Gods, the music in this realm is awesome."_

_"Oh, what, they don't have The Rolling Stones in The Enchanted Forest and wherever else you've been?" Henry quipped._

_"Of course not!" shouted Aerona as the music grew louder. She was about to ask him something else about The Enchanted Forest, then thought better of it because there were so many people around. "Come on, I want to dance." She grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor._

* * *

_"That was the most fun I've had in years," mumbled Aerona as she took Henry's hand in hers and let him help her out of the cab._

_"Maybe we let ourselves have a little too much fun," Henry admitted as he paid the driver and let Aerona take his arm._

_"Not really. We only had a total of three drinks each in four hours. You should have just driven us home."_

_"Not if I want to be a cop." Henry wrapped his arm around Aerona, letting the full weight of her body rest against his even though they both knew she was only slightly tipsy. On the inside of the front door, they found a note from Helena._

_"Sleeping over at Carly's house, back before noon. You and your girlfriend can have the rest of the coffee cake."_

_"Why is everyone around us assuming I'm your girlfriend?" asked Aerona as she wandered over to the couch and turned on the radio._

_Henry fidgeted. "I don't usually keep a girl around this long."_

_Aerona snorted. "_Woman_, Henry." Henry smiled. "You know, I don't get it. You've devoted half your life to taking care of your sister, you were willing to do everything you could to help me before you even knew anything about me, and you want a job that involves upholding the law. You're not one of the bad guys."_

_"Yeah?"_

_"So what exactly do you have against falling in love?"_

_"The fact that I would never do it doesn't mean I have anything against it." Henry sat down on the couch next to Aerona. "Frankly, I don't see what's wrong with the way I live my life. Yes, my relationships rarely last more than a couple of hours. But it's not like the women don't know what they're getting going in."_

_"But still…" Aerona moved slightly closer to Henry on the sofa. "Why would you say you'll never do it?"_

_There was dead silence for a full thirty seconds. Henry starred at a smudge on the blank TV screen across from them as the beginning notes of _Alone_ by _Heart _came from the radio._

_"I came to this realm with Helena when I was four. She was a baby, and my parents didn't follow us. They couldn't." Henry fidgeted. "I had so many people in my life that I loved. My parents, my grandfather, some close friends. Even a few horses. And all of that disappeared in an instant." A moment of silence passed. "For the next thirteen years, we just bounced from home to home, living with groups of strangers who we knew would never give a damn about us." Henry paused. "I've always looked after Helena, because I love her and because I know my parents expected me to, but that's it. Like, don't you think that we'd all be better off if we didn't get close to anyone we didn't absolutely have to? The more you care about, the more you have to lose."_

_Unexpectedly, Aerona reached over and squeezed his hand._

_"I grew up alone, too. My mother was supposedly killed by a monster, and my father couldn't stand the sight of me because I looked like her. When I was six, he let some people take me away with them to another realm. There was always someone looking after me who cared for me when I was young, but I could never really get close to them. I hated my father so much. And I loved him. And I hated myself for being stupid enough to love someone who was never going to love me back."_

_Henry let out a deep breath he hadn't known he was holding in. He turned and looked at Aerona and squeezed her hand._

_"I've actually never told anyone that before," Aerona admitted._

_"Neither have I."_

_Both of them leaned forward in the same moment. His lips met hers. After that, the only words spoken in that room were coming from the radio._

Till now, I always got by on my own  
I never really cared until I met you  
And now it chills me to the bone  
How do I get you alone?

* * *

_Henry woke up the next morning in his own bed. His eyes scanned the room and landed on a pile of clothes on the floor, which was enough to make the previous night's events flash before his eyes. Seconds later, Aerona appeared in the doorway fully clothed. "Sorry. I was just going to leave you a note."_

_Henry warily brushed his hair out of his eyes as he processed what she'd said. "What?"_

_"Last night was a mistake. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I've been loyal to my husband for eighteen years."_

_"Eighteen years? How the hell young were you when you got engaged to him?"_

_"It's complicated, okay? Bottom line…this…whatever there is between us…it can't happen. Ever."_

_Henry sat up in his bed. "This doesn't mean you have to go. You can still stay here, we can still look for a way back home together…."_

_Aerona stepped as close to Henry as she possibly could. "Can you honestly tell me that if we continue living and working together that you will never want to sleep with me again?" A minute passed. Henry said nothing. "I didn't think so."_

_"Aerona, wait."_

_"Because of everything you've done for me so far, I'll contact you when I find a way back to The Enchanted Forest. But until then, just stay away from me."_

_By the time Helena had gotten home, there was no trace of Aerona left in the apartment._

* * *

_A Few Weeks Later_

_He didn't even have a picture of her. He was putting up a photograph of himself in his new official police officer's uniform when he realized it. Why it occurred to him even then he had no idea. It wasn't like he made a habit of asking girls he was with for a picture, no matter how hot they were. He wasn't even sure that he really _wanted_ a picture of Aerona. After all, he had two categories of women in his life. And Aerona didn't fall into either one. Not really._

_"You okay, Henry?"_

_Henry glanced up and saw Helena sitting at the table with some papers spread out in front of her._

_"Yeah, I'm fine. What are you up to?"_

_"Looking at some college brochures."_

_"That's great," said Henry. "Leave those out when you're done with them, will you?"_

_"Um…okay," said Helena. "Why?"_

_"I might need to take a few classes before I take the detective exam," Henry explained._

_"Ooh, you're gonna be a spy?" teased Helena._

_"Yeah, something like that. It's time I started learning how to find people."_

* * *

**A/N: facecasting**

**Helena = Lea Michele**

**Henry = Misha Collins**

**Aerona = Sophia Bush**


	18. Storybrooke Sunday

When both Stable siblings arrived at Granny's the following morning, the only other people around were Ruby and Mr. Gold, Mrs. Gold, and Kayla, all dressed in their finest.

"Good morning," said Henry when he saw them. "Everything okay? The place looks deserted."

"Most people in town are on their way to church right now," explained Mr. Gold. "We prefer a quiet Sunday brunch. I've never been too fond of nuns."

"Me neither!" yelled Leroy, a.k.a. Grumpy, as he ordered his second beer of the day.

"Would you care to join us, Mr. and Ms. Stable?" asked Mr. Gold.

"No, thank you," said Henry. Then, seizing the opportunity to be around most of the town's people in one place, he went to ask Ruby for directions to the church while Helena gave him a look behind his back.

"How about you?" Mr. Gold asked Helena.

"Sure." It wasn't like she had anything better to do.

"You seem surprised that he's going," Mr. Gold remarked as Henry thanked Ruby and headed out the door.

"My brother's been an atheist his entire life."

"Well, people change," said Mr. Gold. "Isn't that right, darling?"

"Of course," said Mrs. Gold, who wasn't really paying attention.

"Are you ordering chocolate chip pancakes again, Kayla Belle?" asked Mr. Gold.

"Mhm," responded Kayla, who was writing something down in a notebook.

"Homework at Sunday brunch?" Helena remarked. "You must be busy."

"It's not homework."

"Then what are you doing?" asked Mr. Gold.

"Making a list of every type of item you have in the pawn shop."

Mrs. Gold sighed. "Kayla, why don't you put that away for now?" Reluctantly, she did.

"So, is Kayla named after anyone?" asked Helena in an attempt to make conversation. "Neither of you ever told us your first names."

"No, she's not," said Mrs. Gold. "My first name is Rose, but hardly anyone calls me that anymore."

"What about you?" Helena asked Mr. Gold.

He frowned and glanced off to the side. "I really don't remember my first name anymore. Do you, darling?"

Mrs. Gold frowned and shook her head. "No." Helena raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything.

"So, Ms. Stable," Mr. Gold turned to her. "Have you been enjoying your stay in our little town?"

"It's…yep, it's been an interesting experience."

Mr. Gold smiled. "Storybrooke might be quite different from what you're used to. But I can assure you that if you look hard enough, it will turn out to be one of the most interesting towns you have ever been to."

"You've just been looking in all the wrong places," said Kayla with a smile.

"Maybe not _all_. I met Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip the other day."

Kayla's eyes widened. "You...you're part of Operation Zebra, too?! And you _found them_? Where?"

Helena smiled. "Down a rabbit hole."

Kayla giggled. half-smiled. "That's enough Operation Zebra stuff before breakfast. Why don't you go tell Ruby our order?"

"Mkay." Kayla hopped up and gave Helena a high-five on her way to the counter. Actually, Helena had no idea what Operation Zebra was, but secretly she did wish she could spend more time with Kayla. Not just because she liked her, but because this was only the second person she'd ever met in her living memory whom she was biologically related to. But, for the most part, she didn't want to get in the way of Henry getting to know his daughter. And none of that changed the fact that she found his decision to move to Storybrooke absolutely insane.

* * *

Priest, Snow White's father. Mother Superior, Blue Fairy. Other nuns, also fairies. One of these was the one who had made Grumpy Grumpy, Henry couldn't tell which from the fifth pew back. Elderly blind lady who came in with a plate of cookies, probably the blind witch.

"Let us all stand and take a moment of silence to thank the lord for everything He hast given unto us," said the priest, aka King Leopold. Henry joined hands with the strangers on either side of him but didn't close his eyes. Instead he glanced around the room for the minute to see if Mayor Mills or either of his parents were around. He didn't spot them, but he did notice David's mother Edith Nolan, aka Ruth, and was a little startled at the sight of the familiar face. He tried to force himself to concentrate on his mission. This was no time to let himself feel anything. Except maybe a little guilt over knowing that he was responsible for the fact that Mary Margret and David were sitting together while Kathryn sat alone just one row away.

The rest of the service was spent trying to profile the rest of the "characters" in the book while remaining as inconspicuous as possible. Meanwhile King Leopold went on and on about how blessed everyone should consider themselves because they were fortunate enough to live in such a blessed town with blessed neighbors and everything good that happened to them should be considered a blessing. Considering that they were actually living in a_ cursed_ town, there was something freakishly ironic about this. Eventually the sermon devolved into a mournful monologue about how much the priest missed his first wife, and how beautiful she was.

After the service was over, Henry spotted David walking Mary Margret to her car. "Hey, David!" Henry called. David held up his hand, said something to Mary Margret, kissed her on the cheek, and went back over to Henry.

"You were right," said David. "She said yes! And she's amazing, we have so much in common!" Henry inwardly rolled his eyes. They hadn't even been dating for twenty-four hours yet.

"I'm happy for you, man," he said truthfully. "Just curious, does the mayor ever come to church?"

"Of course not. She hates any social gathering that involves the attention being focused on someone other than her."

"Why am I not surprised?" Henry responded. "What about her daughter?"

"She isn't allowed to go." Henry clenched his jaw and bit his tongue. "How's Kayla doing?" asked David.

"Doing better," said Henry. "I'll see you later." He left before David had a chance to ask him what he meant by 'better'. It killed Henry that his parents were in the same town as him for the first time for twenty-eight years, but he knew that moving in on the evil witch too fast could be detrimental. He needed to know for sure who she was. And he needed something he could use against her.

* * *

"Thank you for agreeing to take a walk with me, Philip." Aurora linked her arm around his, rested her head on his shoulder, and let out a contented sigh. "Those wizards and nurses at the infirmary are so rude. All they want me to do is sit around in bed doing nothing unless I'm being 'supervised'. They treat me as if Maleficent burned my skin off with her flames and then clawed me half to death or something. It was _just _a sleeping curse. They should know that a princess who's been through what I have is strong enough to get back on her feet after being woken from a simple sleeping curse."

Her beloved smiled in amusement. "They're probably surprised because most people don't recover from…uh…sleeping curses as quickly as you have. You have a lot more stamina than anyone expected you to."

"Are you sure I was only asleep for two years?" Aurora questioned as she looked at a passing car. "The carriages have gotten so strange, and the number of commoners I've seen communicating with each other by holding shiny enchanted boxes up to their ears is simply astounding."

"I'm positive." The man turned and waved hello to a woman standing twenty or so feet behind him, then stopped and waited for her to catch up.

"Who's that?" asked Aurora.

"I'm Helena," the woman introduced herself.

Aurora curtseyed. "So pleased to meet the brave woman who helped my prince to rescue me!"

"How are you feeling, Eleanor?" asked Helena.

"Oh, it's Aurora. Princess Aurora."

Helena turned and looked at Kevin, who half-smiled. "It's going fine. She has her first session with Dr. Hopper tomorrow." Helena nodded.

"Is the session some sort of royal meeting with a knight I didn't know about? What happened to Maleficent? Is she dead?"

"Of course she is," Helena assured her. Kevin raised his eyebrows. "Obviously. If you're Phillip, that means that you killed the dragon with your sword. Haven't you seen the movie?"

"What's a movie?" asked Aurora.

'Phillip' squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about it. Let's just get back to the infirmary before they start worrying about you."

Kevin had his practical reasons for staying with Eleanor, to be sure. He still felt guilty about being the cause of her ailment, and he wanted to come to her first therapy session so that he could find out how much of this mindset was his fault and how much had already been there. But beyond that, he was finding himself unexplainably and intensely drawn to her, despite the fairytale delusion.

* * *

"You remembered the book, right?" asked Kayla as she led Henry to the back entrance of Mr. Gold's pawn shop.

"Yeah," said Henry. "Hey, I thought your father was going to be here."

"Nope. Mom doesn't let him work on Sundays."

Henry hesitated. "So we'd be breaking and entering?"

"No, it's fine," Kayla insisted. "I have a key."

"Works for me." Kayla opened the door and brought them inside. Then she set her list she'd been working on and the book down on her father's desk. "You take the back room, I'll take the front room. We only have a few hours, so try to match as many of these objects as you can with their counterparts in the book."

"Anything in particular we're looking for?" asked Kayla.

"Anything that can help us defeat the evil witch."

* * *

Two hours later, Henry was examining a shelf of ceramics when Kayla came out holding a magic wand.

"What's that from?" asked Henry.

"I think the Dark One owned that whole case of them in the back. As far as I know they're too big to be fairy wands. In any case, I can't get it to work."

"Good," said Henry. "Put that wand back where you got it from right this instant, and if you find any other objects that might have magical properties, come get me immediately, understand?"

Kayla frowned slightly. "Okay."

Henry sighed and turned back to the figurines. _Guess that was my first real "parenting" moment._

"Do you need help with the figurines?" asked Kayla. "I know the unicorn ones all came from King Leopold's palace."

"Was there a picture of them in the book?" asked Henry.

"Yes," said Kayla. "And I know where that angel is from, too."

Henry carefully lifted down a figurine of an angel with brown hair and a simple brown dress. It would have just been a figurine of a girl if it wasn't for the white wings on the back.

"This is where it's from." Kayla pointed to a page in the book. There was a picture of a girl and boy sitting on the grass next to a stone building. The boy was holding the angel figurine in the palm of his hand and the girl was smiling.

"_And on her thirteenth birthday, Alan gave Cora a porcelain angel that cost him two weeks of wages. It was the first proper birthday gift she had ever received, and it would be the only gift from him that she would keep after believing that he had abandoned her. She never found out that the real reason he disappeared was because her uncle poisoned him with a potion that causes one to forget the person they love the most. As a result, Cora became an even more bitter person than she already was and went to Rumpelstiltskin for help. As soon as she knew enough magic to do so without harming herself, she ripped out her own heart and put it in a box. That was why she never loved Regina-or anyone else-ever again."_

"I think I just found your parents' wedding rings." Henry looked up and saw Kayla holding two gold rings in the palms of her hands. He didn't need to look in the book to remember what they looked like.

"Put them back." He would approach Mr. Gold about buying them later. It was bad enough that he was about to steal the angel figurine. But that was ultimately for the greater good.

"Okay."

"Now let's drop everything else for now and look for Cora's heart."

"There are no hearts in the pawn shop," said Kayla. "If there were, we'd be able to hear them beating. I'm guessing that Mayor Mills would keep something like that either at her house or at town hall. We can go look there now, if you want."

"Not today," said Henry. "I need a strategy before going into either of those places. Let's just put away everything we pulled out and call it a day, alright?"

"Okay. I know how we can get in. I'll ring the door bell and tell Mayor Mills there's an emergency somewhere in the town, and you can sneak in while I stay outside and be the lookout."

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not taking you with me to see someone who's capable of ripping out people's hearts and controlling everything they do."

"No. She doesn't have any magic here. That means she can't rip out any new hearts."

"But maybe she can control the people whose hearts she already has. In any case, I'm going to need some more backup before going on that particular mission. And you need to stay somewhere safe while that's going on, so I don't have to worry about you. Understand?"

Kayla shook her head. "No. I don't understand. I'm tired of reading about heroes. I want to _be_ one."

Henry smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "You were the only person who could have brought me here, Kayla. You're already a hero."

* * *

**A/N: please review! :) Also I'd like to recommend a fanfic, Where Do I Belong by Metope. It's another alternate universe that involves Cora casting the curse and Daniel surviving with StableQueen moments and adorable SwanQueen friendship and it's absolutely amazing.**


	19. Anyone Can Change Her Life

Henry dropped Kayla off at her parents' house half an hour later. Mr. Gold was standing at the door when they got there, almost as if he had been waiting for them but not quite.

"I hope I didn't keep her too long," said Henry apologetically.

"No, no, of course not," Mr. Gold assured him. "Kayla, I think your mother needs some help in the kitchen."

"Okay." The girl obediently disappeared into the house. Mr. Gold glanced back at Henry and smiled.

"Our girl has taken quite a shine to you, hasn't she?"

Henry returned the smile. "I'd like to think so."

"Just curious…how long do you and your sister plan on staying in Storybrooke, exactly?"

"Helena is leaving on Tuesday. I plan on staying long enough to…figure some stuff out."

For a fleeting instant, Mr. Gold's expression visibly faltered. For that same instant, Henry was afraid that the adopted father of his child might begin to find his presence threatening.

"Your sister is leaving?"

"Yes. She'll come along in the car when I go back to Boston to pick up my things from my apartment."

"I see," said Mr. Gold.

Henry studied the older man's expression-impossible to read, even for a detective of eight years. He heard Mrs. Gold call her husband from inside and ask for help with something. "I'll be there in a moment, darling!"

"Mr. Gold, can I be honest with you?"

"Absolutely. As I always say, honesty is the best policy."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but somehow I suspect that there is a lot more to you than a simple pawnbroker."

Mr. Gold's smile widened a millimeter. He retreated into his house without responding.

* * *

At the station the next morning, Henry donned his new deputy outfit and badge with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he needed a job and a place in this town in order to fit in while he was investigating it, but on the other hand, what he also needed was more time to concentrate on his true mission.

"I may send you on a couple of errands today," said Graham. "I know patrolling a small town is nothing compared to what you're used to, but it'll be good for you to get acquainted with Storybrooke."

"That's no problem," Henry assured him.

"Feel free to browse our criminal records if you have a moment. We're old school here. Everything is kept in filing cabinets."

"Sure," said Henry. Not that there would be any point, other than for profiling purposes. They probably weren't even real.

Outside, Helena was sipping her morning coffee and walking past the still-closed library. Out of the corner of her eye, she happened to notice Kevin escorting Eleanor into the therapist's clinic and smiled. Across the street, she saw Kayla jump out of Mr. Gold's car and run in the direction of a group of schoolchildren waiting at a bus stop. Mr. Gold waved to Helena. She waved back courteously and continued on her way, pulling out her phone to answer a few texts from her friends back home as she walked.

"She mentioned to me that she's planning on leaving Storybrooke tomorrow," remarked Mrs. Gold.

"So I heard, darling."

"Poor thing seems to have run out of things to do in this town. I'll bet she's quite eager to get back to her normal life."

Mr. Gold flashed his wife a hint of a smile. "Yes, that would be nice for her, wouldn't it?"

For now, Mr. Gold's watchful eye was the last thing on Helena's mind as she apologized to one co-worker about a flat iron she'd borrowed and hadn't returned yet and asked another to look into a couple of her more urgent cases. A few minutes later, out of nowhere, Helena tripped and caught herself on a fence with her free hand. Her cell phone slipped and landed on the concrete. She heard a tiny gasp from a mouth other than her own and glanced around. She saw no one ahead or behind her on the sidewalk.

"_I'm sorry_," a meek voice whispered.

Helena looked down in the direction of the voice. Pressed up against the fence was a crumpled heap of a girl, not quite a woman and not quite a child. Her legs, which were what Helena realized she must have tripped over, were pushed up against her chest. Her head was tucked so Helena couldn't see her face.

"It's okay," Helena replied softly. She crouched down next to the stranger. "How old are you?"

"Th..thirteen. I'm really sorry."

Helena hesitantly placed one hand on the girl's shoulder. She looked up. Her blue eyes were brilliant and terrified. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"I…I don't…"

The girl nearly screamed when the front door to the house they were standing next to flew open.

"Ashley!" hollered a tall brunette. "What do you think you're doing out here?"

Ashley pulled herself into a standing position immediately, revealing in full a dress that was sloppily patched up in so many places that it barely qualified as an article of clothing. Her messy blonde hair fell over one shoulder. "I…w…I…"

"I don't want to hear it!" The woman marched over to where Ashley and Helena were standing, cuffed the girl lightly on her right cheek, grabbed her by the wrist, and yanked her to the front door. "Now get inside. If every scrap of clothing in my house hasn't been washed by lunchtime, you're not getting anything."

Helena stood quietly on the sidewalk and watched, putting in the necessary effort to remain poker-faced. Nevertheless, the woman turned around and threw her a dirty glance.

"What are you looking at me like that for? She's only my _step_daughter."

Helena said nothing. The woman closed the door and disappeared. Dozens of angry thoughts raced through Helena's mind. In similar situations she'd been able to pull out her phone, call for backup, and remove the child from the premises. But the fact that she was a licensed social worker in Massachusetts was likely to mean little to the residents of Storybrooke. Also, her phone was now broken.

Helena picked up the smashed cell phone, turned it over in her hand a few times, tried pushing some of the buttons. Nothing. _There goes my only connection to the outside world_, she thought bitterly.

From that point, it was a fifteen-minute brisk walk to the police station, where she knew her brother was working now. Much as Helena didn't feel like asking Henry for help right now, he was in a much better position to take action than she was. "Hey, Henry?" called Helena as she opened the door. "I need you to help me with something. I found…" she stopped when she realized the only other person in the building was a tall curly-haired cop in uniform going over some papers at his desk.

"Are you Henry's sister?" he asked. "He just left ten minutes ago. I sent him to handle an intersection with a busted traffic light and after that he's making some rounds for me. He's not likely to be back anytime soon."

"Oh."

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm here to report a case of suspected child abuse. The girl's name is Ashley, she's thirteen, and I saw her stepmother abusing her physically and threatening not to feed her if she didn't clean the house."

"Shouldn't she be in school?"

"That's what I said."

"Huh." The sheriff got up. "What's the address of the house?"

"I don't know," said Helena, realizing she stupidly didn't take it down. "But I can show it to you. I was just there."

"Okay. Let's go. I'm Sherriff Graham, by the way."

"Helena Stable."

They both climbed into a police car and Helena told Graham where to drive. "I'll need you to stay in the car," Graham instructed. "It wouldn't be appropriate for you to come inside."

Helena bit her lip. She knew he was right, which really sucked because she obviously could have been of help.

Once Graham parked the police car outside the house, he got out and wasn't halfway to the front door when it opened and the same woman Helena had seen earlier opened it and smiled sweetly. She heard them exchange a few words and saw them smile and shake hands. Curious, she leaned over and manually rolled down the window on Graham's side enough to be able to hear.

"-your stepdaughter, Ashley."

"What about her? If this is about the fact that she's not in school, my poor darling said she wasn't feeling well today so I'm keeping her home."

Helena rolled her eyes. Yeah, because anyone who was actually innocent would be worried that _that_ was what brought a cop to her door.

"I understand," said Graham. "Do you mind if I talk to Ashley for a minute?"

The woman's face fell. "Did…did she do something wrong?"

That was the last that Helena could hear. Graham and Ashley's stepmother disappeared into the house. Twenty minutes later, Graham returned licking crumbs from his lips humming cheerfully to himself.

"Well, everything in the house looks normal. Fairly luxurious, in fact. Whoever Ashley's father was left that family very well off."

Helena tensed up. "That woman is her primary caregiver?"

"Linda Boyd. And yes. She certainly doesn't seem like the type of woman who'd ever want to hurt anyone. Her cookies are delicious."

"And what about Ashley herself? Did you talk to her?"

"She was in bed sick. I saw her for a few seconds. She smiled and told me everything was okay."

"No way," said Helena. "I know what I saw."

Graham shrugged. "Maybe it was just an isolated incident. Do you want me to give you a ride somewhere?"

"Just drop me off somewhere in the town center." Helena turned to look out the window at the house one last time. This time, she memorized the address.

* * *

Half an hour later, Helena returned to the police station.

"If you're looking for Henry, he still isn't back."

"I have something for you." Helena put a file folder down on Graham's desk on top of the documents he'd been perusing. He picked it up and looked at the words written on the tab.

"Ashley Boyd's school record. How did you even get this?"

"I told the secretary that you sent me to pick it up."

Graham chuckled. "Clever."

"Open it."

Graham smiled at Helena almost pitifully, then opened the folder. He began skimming its contents and frowned after thirty seconds.

"This says Ashley's been homeschooled since her father died."

"So her stepmother lied to you about her being home sick. I know what's going on. She's not being homeschooled. She was pulled out of school to do housework so that woman wouldn't need to waste her precious inheritance hiring someone to clean that mini mansion."

Graham looked up at Helena. "You aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"No, I'm not," said Helena. "I told you, I know what I saw. We're going back over there immediately."

"So you make the rules now? You do remember you don't actually work here, right?"

"Right . Guess that means I wouldn't be the one to get in trouble if you weren't doing your job right and someone just so happened to mention it to the almighty Mayor Mills." Helena grabbed the keys to the police car off his desk, and marched outside.

"Oh, that is not fair," he mumbled before following suit.

"Why are you so obsessed with this, anyway?" asked Graham once he and Helena were seated in the car. "Are you a friend of the family?"

"No." Helena waited a moment. "I've always had a sense about children. It's ridiculous that so many people assume that in any situation involving an adult and a child, the adult is right unless the child is covered in blood and bruises. There are an infinite number of ways to abuse someone that don't leave visible scars."

Graham guessed that she was speaking from experience, but he didn't say anything. When they pulled up to the Boyd house, he parked and again instructed Helena to stay in the car. He knocked on the door, Mrs. Boyd opened it. They both entered the house after a few minutes. Five minutes went by. Then ten. Then fifteen.

"Screw this," mumbled Helena. She jumped out of the cop car, closed the door quietly, and snuck up to the front door. When she pressed her ear up against the door frame and heard nothing, she quietly pushed the door open.

"So, I lie to you about one little thing and you assume I'm some wicked stepmother? I don't believe this."

"I'm just telling you what I heard," said Graham in his calmest possible voice. "And what I'm seeing here is that you lied to me. Why would you lie to me about homeschooling Ashley?"

"Because it's none of your business!"

"Actually, it is. I'm going to have to ask you to let me talk to Ashley again."

Helena leaned in far enough to see that Graham and Mrs. Boyd were in a small parlor off to the side, where Mrs. Boyd was attempting to bribe the sheriff with some homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. Helena quietly closed the front door behind her and ducked into a small hallway. She looked around at the walls and saw dozens of framed professional photographs of Mrs. Boyd and two girls that looked maybe fifteen and sixteen who were mirror images of her. Ashley wasn't in any of them.

Helena was startled when she heard a muffled scream. She dashed forward two steps in the direction of the scream. At the end of the hallway was a rough wooden door labeled "laundry room". Helena pried it open. Ashley was standing next to an old fashioned washing machine scooping detergent into the water. When she noticed Helena she looked up and gasped.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's okay," said Helena. "I'm not here to hurt you." Ashley glanced around warily. "Why were you screaming just now?" Ashley shook her head. "Why did you lie to the sheriff when he talked to you this morning?"

"How…how did you know about that?"

"He's here again now," said Helena. "He knows you lied."

Ashley shrugged her hand off and stepped back, grimacing in pain as she did so. "Why would you bring him here? I'm fine!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am!" Ashley turned around and limped over to the laundry basket, stopping for a moment to clutch her side as she scooped up an armful of towels.

"You're telling me that because your stepmother is making you feel trapped," said Helena quietly. "She's either threatening to punish you if you tell anyone what she's doing to you, or she's making you feel like if you're taken somewhere else your life will be even worse." Ashley's eyes widened, telling Helena that her instincts were correct. "I know that because I've known a lot of kids like you, and because I was one once. But I promise you that as long as you continue to keep your stepmother's secrets, nothing is going to change. She's going to keep treating you like this is the life you deserve, and it's not."

Ashley blinked and looked away into a corner as a silent tear rolled down her cheek. "The sheriff is going to ask to talk to you again," Helena continued. "And I promise that if you tell him everything, we will find a way to get you out of here. Try and remind yourself that things can only get better, okay?"

Ashley looked up for a second and nodded tearfully. Helena smiled. Then she exited the laundry room and quietly snuck back out of the house.

Twenty minutes later, Graham stepped outside with Ashley clutching his arm and still limping slightly from the pain in her side. Mrs. Boyd was chasing them and hollering something about how if Ashley's father were alive they wouldn't be in this mess. Graham helped Ashley slide into the seat behind his own.

"You were right," said Graham to Helena. "Linda pretended Ashley was sick so that she could have her lie down and I wouldn't notice she was injured."

Ashley pulled the seatbelt over herself and gazed at Helena with a broken look in her eyes.

"What's going to happen to me?"

Helena reached back and squeezed her hand.

"For now, you're going to the hospital to get that bruise on your side checked out," said Graham. "I need to get back to the station and figure out where you're going next. Would…um…" Graham glanced at Helena. "Would you mind walking her in?"

"No problem." Obviously the man was embarrassed about how a woman who wasn't even qualified to do his job had better instincts about the situation than he had.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the hospital.

"Thank you," Graham said as Helena pulled off her seatbelt and looked to him. "I mean it. If it hadn't been for you…" He let his voice trail off.

Helena flashed him a smile and got out of the car. For a split second, the smile he gave her in return made her heart flutter. She squashed the feeling as best she could as she helped Ashley get out on the other side. Tomorrow she was finally going to leave Storybrooke, and the last thing she needed was a man giving her a reason to return.

* * *

Henry whistled to himself as he rounded a corner that led to a remote road in the woods. He made a map of Storybrooke in his head as he drove along. His GPS was useless here as it just showed the entire town as a big green blob, so the best way to make navigating this town easier was to memorize it. He took note of everything that could be considered a landmark, from an unusual sign to a strange rock or tree. When he pulled over to take note of a sign for a toll bridge with some faint graffiti on it, he heard someone singing. Not singing words, just belting out notes.

"Hello?" Henry called. "What's going on?"

He waited. Moments later, a young brunette woman in a purple ball gown with determined eyes appeared out of the brush clutching a hunting knife. Henry drew his gun.

"Drop the weapon, put your hands above your head, and back away slowly."

"What the hell is that?"

"Don't make this any harder on yourself."

"I'm not kidding!" she yelled. "What is that? Is it possessed by some sort of dark magic that could kill me?"

Henry's eyebrows went up. "How do you know about magic?"

The woman's expression softened.

"How do you?"


End file.
